A Knock on the Door
by MahoganyFlames
Summary: Lily and James became friends during their 6th year and nothing more. Then a fight at the end of the year forces them apart. Could a knock on the door change everything? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi all! I just wanted to say that this is my first story so bare with me please. I decided that since chapter one was kind of short that I would put up chapter two as well. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing in the world JK Rowling created. Also I took the names of James' parents from another story because I thought they worked well. So if that happened to be your story thank you.

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* * *

Chapter 1: Thinking**

Lily sat watching the countryside pass by. Her friends, Alice, Mary and Emily, sat on the floor of the compartment playing some card game that Lily had no interest in. They had tried to get her to play but she refused saying she wasn't in the mood, so they left her with her thoughts.

For some reason, Lily had a strange sense of deja vu. And then it hit her, she had felt the exact same last year after the horrible incident with Snape. Last year was when Snape called her that awful name and their years of friendship went down the toilet. She felt awful about that but knew it was going to come to an end soon because of the people Snape called his friends.

Now all she could think about was how she and James Potter were never going to speak to each other again. She thought they were getting along great until he started protecting her against everything, which really annoyed her. Lily knew that she had started to fancy James but then they had that fight right before the end of term. She knew it was not the worst fight they had ever had, but knowing that she told him to never speak to her again was killing her. She felt guilty about it, really she did. All she could see was how hurt he was right before she walked away from him.

She could feel the train start to slow and got up to get her things. Her friends had just finished their game and looked worriedly at Lily but they never had the chance to ask because Lily told them she would write them this summer. They had never been apart for so long during the summer and knew they were going to miss each other. They hugged and Lily left the compartment before any of them could talk to her. They would see each other before they knew it and knew she would be okay.

**Flashback to the fight...**

"Just stay away from her!" James shouted at an angry, greasy haired Severus Snape.

Snape stormed off and once he rounded a corner James turned to look at Lily, only she wasn't next to him anymore. He looked down the corridor just in time to see Lily round a different corner.

"Lily! Lily, please wait!" he called after her.

After a moment, James had finally caught up to her. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. He was shocked to see how angry she looked. In all the years since they have been at Hogwarts, he had never seen her _this_ angry.

"What? James, what could you possibly want?" Lily shouted. She could feel the tears brimming in her eyes. She only cried like this when she was really pissed off.

"I-I, what's wrong?" James asked.

She looked to the ground before answering. "I don't think I can do this anymore."

"What can't you do?"

"Be friends with you anymore."

"Why?"

She heaved a sigh, angry that it had to be this way. She knew what would come next would hurt James but she had had enough.

"Because, you're always protecting me like I'm five-years old and I'm sick of it!" she shouted at him with more force than she meant.

"I-what?" James asked confused.

"At the beginning of the year, I was glad that you were always there when Snape cornered me. I was still hurting and didn't want to talk to him. But then as the year went on and he kept cornering me and you always showed up I got really annoyed." She paused and then shouted "I can take care of myself!"

"Lily, I was only trying to help" he replied in a small voice.

"I know but you never gave me the chance to need any help! You always just took over like you did, just now!"

"I was being helpful!" he shouted at her. He was angry now.

"I never wanted your help!" she yelled.

James was stunned. He thought she always appreciated it when he showed up and saved her from Snivellus but apparently not. At the same time he was afraid she might pull out her wand. So he made sure his wand was in his hand. He had been on the receiving end of many of her hexes and didn't want that again. Luckily, it looked like it never occurred to her to whip out her wand.

"Fine Evans, I won't ever help you again!"

"Fine Potter, don't ever speak to me again!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

He watched as she stormed off towards the Gryffindor common room, stunned. He couldn't believe that he and Lily weren't friends after a hard year of not asking her out and showing her that he was more mature. James slowly walked back to the common room to finish packing his trunk, seeing as today was that last day of term. As he walked through the portrait hole his friends Sirius, Remus and Peter ambushed him asking what was wrong with Lily. He mumbled something about not wanting to talk about it and headed up to the dormitory.

* * *

James watched as the countryside passed by and the day grew darker. He knew that they were getting close to King's Cross Station marking the end of another year. His friends, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, were playing an exciting game of Exploding Snaps. They tried to get James to join them but he refused saying he didn't feel well. They were worried about him but he couldn't bring himself to tell them anything.

He could only think of her, Lily. He knew that sometimes he could push someone too far and Lily was no exception. Ever since their first year, he had always pushed her too far just to get her mad because he thought it was funny. During their third year, he starting asking Lily out for dates but she always refused. Remus always said that it was the way he acted toward her and the way he asked her out. He suggested that James start showing that he could be mature and stop badgering her for a date with him. (Lily and Remus were Prefects together and knew that Remus and she were good friends).

So he decided he would try. He had no idea that they would become friends in their sixth year only to have it come crashing down.

He noticed the train starting to slow just as Sirius was declared winner of the game. James told Remus and Peter that he would write and dragged his trunk off the rack. Unfortunately, he couldn't spend the summer with either Remus or Peter; they would be on vacation all summer long. But seeing as Sirius lives with him now he wasn't completely abandoned by his friends. They said good-bye and went their separate ways promising to meet up in Diagon Alley before the summer ended.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Unbelievable**

Lily woke up with a start. Ever since her fight with James, she had been waking up this way every day. She was getting tired of having the same nightmare over and over again. It had been a week since school ended and she desperately wanted to go back to get away from her sister and her obnoxious whale of a boyfriend.

She glanced at the clock on her wall and saw that it was only 7:30 in the morning. She groaned and tried to fall asleep again.

After twenty minutes of trying, she gave up and decided it was a lost cause. She got up and went to get ready for the day. For some reason she knew today was not going to be a good day. Her fears were confirmed when she went down for breakfast later that morning.

"Morning Mum and Dad"

"Morning Lily" her parents said at the same time. Over the years they got really good at doing that.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Oh, I'll just have some cereal, Mum."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive Mum" Lily laughed.

Lily grabbed the necessary items and sat down at the table. After a few minutes later her sister, Petunia, came skipping down the stairs with a stupid grin plastered on her face.

"Why so happy?" Lily asked Petunia.

"Well, it just so happens that Vernon is coming over for dinner tonight."

Lily about choked on her spoon. "What?" she coughed.

"I knew it would make you happy" Petunia said oblivious to the fact that Lily about choked.

"_Happy_? Happy? Why would your stupid oaf of a boyfriend coming over make me _happy_?"

Petunia scowled at Lily. "He is not an OAF!"

"Okay fine, but you never denied that he isn't stupid." Lily laughed, stuck her tongue out at her and quickly dashed out of the room just as Petunia threw a bowl at her.

"PETUNIA! How dare you throw a bowl at Lily! Go apologize, Now!" their Mum shouted.

"But Mum, she insulted Vernon!" Petunia whined.

"Yes but those were just words. If that would have hit her, you could have really hurt her. Now go apologize or Vernon may not come over tonight" Mrs. Evans threatened.

"Fine" Petunia huffed.

Lily listened to this from around a corner, laughing at her victory. Just to be nice, Lily accepted Petunia's apology and went to her room until she had to come out. Lily wrote letters to her friends, read one of her muggle books, read some wizarding books, and twiddled with her wand. At five, her mother called her down to help with dinner.

"Where's Tuney? Shouldn't she help since it is _her _boyfriend?"

"Oh, well, she left earlier to spend the day with him and won't be back until it's dinner time." Mrs. Evans said giving Lily an apologetic smile.

Her Mum already had most things done. So she had Lily make the salad and set the table. By the time she was done, it was five-thirty and Petunia and Vernon just arrived. Luckily, the meal was finished right then that way Lily wouldn't have to hear Vernon complain that he was hungry.

Lily can't really see how Petunia, a tall, thin blonde haired girl, could like Vernon, a fat, rude, stupid, purple-faced oaf, but in all fairness their personalities were very similar. Both thought they were better than others, they were mean to anyone not like themselves, they were both selfish and were a lot of other things Lily never wanted to think about. But after their first year together, Lily stopped questioning herself about this. Petunia and Vernon had been going out for three years now.

Normally, dinner only lasted fifteen to twenty minutes because the Evans family weren't heavy eaters. But with Vernon here, it last an hour! All of them were too kind to start clearing the table while Vernon stuffed his face, afraid their hand might be taken off. Lily thought that even Sirius Black didn't eat like that. And that says something.

All through dinner, Petunia looked at Vernon as though he was a god. She laughed at everything he said and clung to him like he was a life preserver. It made Lily want to vomit. Several times she bit her tongue so she wouldn't say something that she would later regret.

Lily was surprised that dinner had gone fairly smoothly. Vernon wasn't quite as rude as normal but it was still pretty early in the evening. Lily and her father cleaned up the kitchen and dining room while the rest went into the living room.

Once they were finished they brought in dessert. A simple pound cake with honey drizzled on top. Lily knew that something was up because as she sat down she noticed an evil kind of gleam in Vernon's eyes and he had the same kind of evil grin on his fat, purple face.

_This can't be good._ Lily thought. And her suspicions proved to be true.

"So, Lily" Vernon sneered "you're on break from school."

Lily was startled a bit, he never addressed her directly.

"Yes" she said suspiciously.

"I forget what Petunia said. Where do you go to school?" Vernon smiled evilly.

_Where is he going with this._ Lily was about to answer when Petunia cut in.

"Oh Vernon, I told you silly. She goes away to a boarding school for _special _people" she said glaring at Lily.

"What do you mean 'special'?" Lily asked returning Petunia's glare.

Vernon laughed obnoxiously and Lily couldn't figure out why besides the obvious, he was rude.

"Oh Lily, don't tell me you don't know why we send you away. Remember, it hurts us every year when you have to go back but we all know its for the best" Petunia said faking her sadness.

Lily was shocked. Her mouth fell open but she quickly shut it. She knew Petunia had told Vernon something about why she wasn't around except for during the summer but she never found out exactly what. Lily was furious that Petunia told Vernon she was "special" but the way she said it implied something completely different.

"Petunia, can I see you in the kitchen?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Er…sure" Petunia said a little surprised. "Be right back Vernikins"

Once the kitchen door shut, Lily whipped around and stared mutinously at Petunia.

"How could you?" Lily shouted.

"What are you talking about?" Petunia sneered.

"Are you seriously that dumb? Were you not just in the room when you called me 'special'?"

"Oh get over it. Just be glad that I didn't tell him what you really are. You freak."

"So, what? He doesn't know the truth just so he won't leave you!"

"That's not why I did it!"

"Oh well, in that case, please enlighten me as to why you did it?" Lily asked sarcastically.

Petunia didn't say anything but to Lily, that said it all.

"Ha! Admit it! That is exactly why you didn't tell him. Your just as selfish as he is!"

"No I'm not!" Petunia screamed and then smiled viciously. "Well, fine then, I guess I will go and tell him the truth about the freak of a sister I have."

Petunia started to turn but Lily quickly blocked her path her.

"Oh no you won't! You don't know what will happen if you tell him. He could go and blab to everyone and then what will happen to me?"

"Honestly, I don't care. You never liked Vernon so why should you care what he does?"

"Because it will ruin me if people found out!"

"Why should I care?" Petunia asked mockingly.

"Because not only am I your sister but it would also put a target over Mum and Dad and YOU! Your hopes to have a flourishing social life would disappear!"

Petunia stared at Lily. She hadn't thought of that.

"Fine, I won't tell him but this conversation is over, Freak!" and she pushed past Lily and left the room.

Lily let her go knowing that she hit the exact reason Petunia hated that her sister was a witch. When they were younger and Lily had just found out she was accepted to Hogwarts, Petunia was just jealous of her. But now that she had met Vernon and was desperate to be in the upper class of society she hated that Lily was a witch. If people found out, it would ruin her and Lily knew this.

After about ten minutes, Lily decided she was calm enough to go back in and suffer through the rest of the night. Just as she entered the room, Petunia let out an ear shattering squeal.

"Oh thank you Mummy! Thank you Daddy! You're the best!" Petunia squealed as she hugged her parents.

"What's going on?" Lily asked warily, looking at all four people.

"Well, it really is none of your business" Vernon mocked.

"Well, considering I live here, I think it is my business." Lily snapped.

"Oh Vernon, Lily, stop. You two should learn to get along." Petunia whined.

"Why should I?" Lily spit at Petunia.

"Because, Vernon's flat is being closed for a week due to mold or something or other, so I asked Mummy and Daddy if he could stay with us until next Sunday instead of with one of his friends and they said he could!" She squealed again which made Lily cover her ears.

"WHAT!" Lily shouted. "Mum, Dad how could you? We don't even have an extra room for him! And letting a boy, no wait an oaf like him stay over! Unheard of! UGH!"

"Now, Lily dear, we were merely being polite" Mrs. Evans said. In a whisper, Mr. Evans said to Lily "It was the only way to get Tuney to stop whining."

Lily couldn't take it anymore. She wasn't in the mood to deal with this especially since she just got herself calmed down. She stormed from the room and stomped up to her bedroom.

Once she got there, she slammed the door, locked it, and flopped onto her bed. She grabbed her pillow and screamed as hard as she could until she had to stop for air. Luckily, her family was used to Lily doing this so no one followed after her.

"I thought they were on _my _side. They are unbelievable!" Lily said out loud, exasperated.

She laid there for ten minutes, trying to let it soak in and accept that there was no way she could get around this upcoming and horrific week.

And then, suddenly it hit her. She knew what she had to do.

In one flick of her wand, a bag flew onto her bed and with another two flicks clothes and other necessities flew into her bag. Thankfully she was seventeen otherwise this would have taken forever. She grabbed the bag and went to the window.

Lily loved the fact that her window was right next to the big tree in their yard and for the fact that the strongest branches touched the house. The only problem was that when it was extremely windy out the ends of the branches scratched up against the house which made it really hard to sleep sometimes.

Just as she opened the window she decided she should leave a note for her parents otherwise they would call the police and everything would get completely out of hand.

She grabbed some parchment and a quill and began a short note.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_I'm sorry that I left this way but I really had no other choice. I promise that I will be back. Once Vernon leaves on next Sunday, I will be back. I know it is not fair that I have left you worried but I couldn't stand being with those two for the next week. I will be back. I'm not exactly sure where I will be but I WILL be safe, I promise. I love you with all my heart._

_Love Always_

_Lily_

She folded the note and wrote _Mum and Dad_ on the outside and set it on her pillow knowing they would see it soon. She walked over to the window, picked up her bag, dropped it to the ground, and started to climb out before remembering that she locked the door. With a flick she heard the door unlock and proceeding to climb out onto the tree.

Even though it was getting dark out, she knew exactly what she needed to do. She had done this many times before. She liked to sit up in the tree in the middle of the night just to think or climb down it to read a book on the ground in the middle of the summer.

She thought to herself what she needed to do. _Take five steps toward the trunk. Grab the branch to my right and swing until I feel the branch under my feet. Find my balance and let go. Squat down and hold onto the branch under my feet. Then swing a little bit and drop to the ground. _

Success. She had made it safely to the ground. Lily picked up her bag that she had dropped down earlier and crept quietly toward the street so she wouldn't be noticed. Once she hit the street she turned away from her house and walked thinking about where she should go.

She couldn't go to Alice's because she and her family were on vacation with her boyfriend Frank and his family. They wouldn't be back for another two weeks and she had no idea where they had gone. Plus she didn't want to ruin their fun.

She also couldn't go to Mary's or Emily's because they were on vacation as well. Mary and her family went to Norway because her dad was there on Ministry business and she wouldn't be back for at least another week maybe more.

Emily had gone back to her home of Ireland. She had always gone to Hogwarts but shortly after she had gotten her letter to Hogwarts her parents decided to move to England to be closer to Emily during the school year. Even though the Floo network could get her home in a second they didn't care. So every summer they went back to Ireland. She knew that she would be welcome at Emily's but she really had no idea where Emily lived. Plus she didn't want to be that far from home especially since it would only be for a week.

After thinking of all this, she realized she had been walking for ten minutes and couldn't figure out where she was. She knew the area around her house fairly well but she had never been this way before.

And then she realized where she could go. No it wasn't the Leaky Cauldron. She had stayed there one time and regretted it ever since.

She shivered a bit realizing she didn't put on a cloak. Even though it was almost July the evenings were still cold.

Lily made sure no one was around and Apparated to her destination. She knew where they lived because Alice lived fairly close and on one of their walks a couple summers ago, Alice had pointed it out to Lily.

Lily had to walk for a little bit to remember exactly where it was but when she saw it she recognized it at once.

There was a little gate in front that was connected to a beautiful stone fence. The house was made of the same stone as the fence complimenting the yard. There were flowers over flowing all over the yard and almost all of them were in full bloom. As she approached the gate, she could smell all the aromas coming from the flowers. They melded together very pleasingly and made Lily relax but only by a fraction.

She opened the gate noiselessly and continued up the path to the front step. She took a deep breath before knocking three times. She couldn't tell if anyone was home. After a few moments she decided no one was home and made to leave. Just as she turned her back she heard the door open and stopped. Afraid to see who it was, she kept her head down and turned back around. She took a deep breath and slowly looked up.

She was startled a bit when she saw who was at the door. But she had expected it.

Lily Evans was standing face to face with none other than James Potter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Stunning Appearances**

It was eight o'clock on a Saturday night. James Potter was playing wizard's chess with his best friend Sirius Black. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were both reading different sections of the _Evening Prophet._

Just as Sirius' rook was decapitating James' king, there was a knock on the door. All four people looked up a little startled. No one ever visited this late at night.

"James, dear" Mrs. Potter said "would you get that please?"

"Sure, Mum"

He walked through the kitchen wondering who it could be. He opened the door and saw the back of someone. It was dark out so he couldn't see who it was. The person turned slowly and he still couldn't tell who it was. He waited as they slowly lifted their face. Then he realized who it was.

James Potter was standing face to face with none other than Lily Evans.

She gave him a sheepish grin as he stared at her stunned. Her red hair framed her face perfectly and her emerald eyes shone ever so slightly in the faint moonlight. She was beautiful to him. She always has been.

"Hello, James" she said softly.

He didn't answer, he couldn't. But he wondered why she was here. Just as he was about to ask her, his mother called to him.

"James, who is at the door?"

He stepped back to let her pass and as she did he noticed that there was a bag in her hand. Once she was in, he closed the door and motioned for her to follow him farther into his house. They didn't speak to each other as she followed him but let the awkward silence linger on.

As they entered into the room that the others were in, all three people looked up curiously. Then their expressions turned to shock. No one spoke for a minute until Sirius broke the silence in a way only he could do.

"Evans! What are you doing here?" he laughed.

Mr. Potter slapped him upside the head. "Sirius that is no way to speak to a visitor!" he reprimanded Sirius.

"Well James, please would you care to introduce us to your friend?" Mrs. Potter asked with a smile.

"Oh right, sorry. Mum, Dad this is Lily Evans. Lily this is my Mum and Dad, Jillian and Richard Potter."

"Well welcome to our home Lily" Mrs. Potter said and hugged her.

"Nice to meet you dear" and Mr. Potter shook her hand.

"Thank you. Nice to meet you too." Lily replied shyly.

"So, Evans what brings you here?" Sirius asked again.

"Oh, well, um…" Lily didn't really know what to say.

Then at the same time, it seemed, everyone else noticed the bag in Lily's hand.

"Oh, Lily dear, please tell us why you are here." Mrs. Potter said kindly leading Lily to the couch and sitting down next to her.

"Well, I kind of…left home for a little bit" Lily told them not meeting anyone's gaze.

"Please, tell us what happened. Maybe we can help" Mrs. Potter said.

"Okay, well, my sister had her boyfriend over for dinner tonight. I have never liked him because, well, he's awful. Dinner went pretty smoothly but I knew it was too good to last." she took a steadying breath because she could tell her voice was shaking.

Mrs. Potter gave her an encouraging squeeze and she went on.

"I don't know if you know this but I'm muggle-born. I'm a witch but my sister isn't. And her boyfriend doesn't know this. So she told him that I was 'special' and had to be sent away to boarding school to be taught how to behave and what not."

She looked up to see that they all had a bit of anger in their eyes because no magical person liked to be called 'special' like that.

"Well, I fought with my sister and made sure she wouldn't tell him but then she went and asked if he could stay for a week. At that I decided I had had enough and ran to my room. Then I decided to leave. After remembering that all my friends were on vacation I came here."

Lily finished and looked up into the worried eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

"Lily, did you at least let your parents know you were leaving?" Mrs. Potter asked concerned.

"Yes, I left them a note but at the time I wasn't sure where I was going. But I promised them I would be back when he was gone."

"Good but that was still irresponsible. Your parents will be worried sick but I understand how obnoxious people can be." she looked directly at Sirius who looked away and fake whistled. "So I guess we should figure out what to do with you." Mrs. Potter laughed.

Lily relaxed knowing that she was in good hands. But couldn't help herself from wondering what James thought of her being here.

"Jillian, we have plenty of extra rooms. Why doesn't she just stay here?" Mr. Potter asked.

"Well of course she will stay here. I wouldn't have it any other way" she said giving Lily a wide smile.

"Oh, thank you so much. I will be out of here by next Sunday."

"Oh now, don't be silly. You can stay for however long you like" Mrs. Potter said as she hugged Lily.

"Well, James, why don't you show Miss Lily here up to the room next to Sirius. I'm sure she had quite an exhausting day."

James nodded, grabbed Lily's bag and beckoned her to follow. They went up the stairs and he led her to one of the guest rooms. He opened the door for her and followed her in. He set her bag on the bed and turned to leave, but after a few steps Lily spoke.

"James, wait…" and when he didn't stop she added "please?"

He could hear the sadness in her voice so he stopped but didn't turn to look at her. He waited for her to speak again but she didn't so he broke the silence.

"Lily, why did you come here?"

"Er…I just told you, downstairs" Lily was slightly confused.

James sighed, "I know what you said but why did you come here? You said you never wanted me to speak to you again. And then you show up here, I can't ignore you completely, my parents would know something was up."

She sighed before she spoke "James, I really am sorry that I said that to you. I regretted it the moment I turned my back but I was so angry that I couldn't turn around and talk to you. I never meant to say that. I guess I just got caught up in the moment and released my anger on you. I realized later that my anger was probably a combination of that moment and all those other times that you bugged the hell out of me."

When Lily stopped, James thought she would go on but when she didn't he turned to look at her. But he didn't expect to see that Lily had tears in her eyes and that some had fallen down her cheeks. He wasn't quite sure what to do but then she spoke.

"When you asked to be friends last year, I was skeptical at first but you really seemed to have changed so I said yes. I was really glad that I did. It was refreshing not to be pestered for a date. After awhile, I felt like you and I were becoming really great friends. I considered you one of my best mates."

"We really got to know each other and I felt like I had misjudged you. You weren't that arrogant toerag anymore. I realized that you were actually really brilliant and didn't take school lightly, that you cared how you did and I liked that you cared. Then we had that stupid fight and I felt like a part of myself had been torn away from me. Like I had lost one of my best friends. And I knew it was all my fault. I hated myself for it but I didn't think there was anything I could do to make it right."

"Then I came here tonight and saw you and I felt like part of that piece that disappeared came back. It must sound crazy and I realize that it has only been about a week but I then I thought about all the other times I was horrible to you and I felt even worse. I knew that there would be a possibility that you wouldn't forgive me and I have accepted that but I really hope you will eventually forgive even if it takes years. I don't care I just miss you as my friend and I hope you don't hate me."

James was shocked that Lily thought he would hate her. He was far from hating her. It took him a couple of minutes to think of something to say. Lily took this as something else so she spoke again.

"Please, James just s-" James interrupted her.

"Lily, stop. I don't hate you. I could never hate you. I understand that you got caught up in the moment and took your anger out on me. I know that I can push people too far and you are no exception, as you know." he chuckled a little but continued.

"This past year has been great. I was so happy that you agreed to be friends. But I also understand that in the years past I bugged the hell out of you and that some of the anger you had was from those years too."

"I forgive you Lily but really I should be one that you are forgiving. I was the one who pushed you too far and I was the one who made you angry. I'm sorry Lily, I really am."

Neither of them spoke for what seemed like hours but was only a couple of minutes. Lily had stopped crying and looked like she was thinking of something to say. They hadn't moved since Lily started speaking and now just looked at each other.

"James, I think I figured out what you're basically saying." Lily laughed a little after she said it.

"Really? Because I really don't know what I'm saying" he laughed.

"I think you're saying that we should forget about that fight like it never happened. And that we should pick up where we left off and I agree."

"Well, good. Because that's what I want to do as well."

They both laughed and just looked at each other for awhile.

"So…what should we do now?"

"I guess we should shake hands or something."

Lily stuck out her hand and James took it but then pulled Lily into a hug. They had hugged before but those hugs had been hugs that friends give each other. But this one was different. And both of them knew it was different. It also last longer than normal hugs. After a few moments they pulled apart.

"I'm just curious, but if I hadn't forgiven you, would you have left?" James asked.

Lily thought for a second. "Most likely, yes."

James laughed and Lily just stared at him like he was crazy. When James noticed he quickly told her why he laughed.

"Well, if you would have left, my Mum would have skinned me alive for letting you leave."

Lily laughed, "Why?"

"She has been the only girl in this house for so long and then Sirius showed up last summer. Now don't get me wrong she didn't mind it but let me tell you Sirius and me together is no picnic."

Lily shook her head in laughter and smiled.

"Well, g'night James."

"G'night Lily" and with that James left.

* * *

James hadn't fallen asleep yet. He was still thinking of Lily and what she said. He felt like there was a double meaning to some of her words but he couldn't quite figure out what they meant. Now James knew he wasn't stupid but when it came to matters of the heart, that was Remus' area of expertise.

He thought about how the appearance of Lily stunned him and of everything else that happened afterward. He thought that his Mum was really going to like Lily and if he let her go she would be furious with him. He laughed at that but knew it would be true.

After awhile, James had closed his eyes hoping that sleep would take him but he had this feeling that someone was standing over him.

"Bloody hell Padfoot!" James shouted as he opened his eyes.

"Shhh! You'll wake up everyone" he whispered, clapping a hand over James' mouth.

"Mmmm mmm mmm mmmmm mmmm. Mm mmmmm mm mmmm mmm."

"What?" Sirius laughed while removing his hand.

"I said what are you doing here? And I'm going to kill you. You scared the bloody hell out of me."

"Oh, sorry, well, earlier I noticed that you and Evans had been talking for a long time. Then neither of you came back down so I was curious to see what happened between you two."

"So you come into my room at" he glanced at his watch "one in the morning to ask me this?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So…this couldn't have waited until the morning?"

"No, Prongs it couldn't have."

James thought for a minute and decided that the only way to get rid of Sirius was to tell him what he wanted to know.

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

Sirius was pretty much jumping out of his skin. He loved when he got his way.

"What did you two talk about?"

James sighed and repeated the conversation to him. He felt a little guilty that he was telling Sirius this but Lily never said not to tell anyone. While he spoke, Sirius looked thoughtful and nodded at the right times. When he finished, a huge smile crept onto his face.

"Prongs, mate, I have a bloody brilliant idea."

"What?"

"Well, I sense a double meaning in some of those words that Lily spoke."

"Yeah, and?"

"And… you fancy her and I suspect she fancies you, why else would she come here. So, anyway, you should do something about it."

"Really? What should I do? She's only here for a week and I don't know when I will see her after that."

"Well, that's why you have got to act fast. Make her realize that she really does fancy you because I suspect that her feelings are hidden. Then once you do, you will have to see what happens. I can only help you get so far, mate. The rest is all you."

"Okay, so what should I do first?"

For the next hour, James and Sirius talked of possible things to do and which would be the best thing to do first. They agreed not to try too much this week so she wouldn't get suspicious. Lily was a smart girl but sometimes she could be really daft.

They agreed to try the first thing tomorrow to see how she reacts. If it goes the way they planned, then they would continue with their plans.

Well, after all they are Marauders, they can't not do something while Lily is here.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Dangerous Plans**

Morning came quicker than expected in the Potter household.

Normally, Lily slept late on Sundays but not today. She woke up with a start but not because of the nightmare. Lily glanced at her watch and saw that it was only eight. _Too early_ she thought. But decided it would be rude to sleep late especially since she was a guest.

After laying there for a couple minutes, she realized that she really needed to use the loo. She quietly crept to her door and opened it as quietly as she could. She sighed in relief that the door didn't squeak. Lily didn't want to wake anyone up so she tiptoed to the bathroom. But she couldn't quite remember where James had said it was.

Lily knew it wasn't the first door next hers, that was Sirius' room. But she couldn't remember if it the next one or the one after that. So she tried the first one only to see that it wasn't the bathroom.

The walls were covered in red and gold with the Gryffindor lion on the walls every so often. There were also Quidditch posters everywhere along with moving pictures of James and his friends. She went to close the door when she noticed James on his bed.

_He sleeps shirtless? _Lily questioned. But then her stomach did a few flips when she looked at longer at him. His body left her breathless. Quidditch did wonders for him. His chest was very muscular but not overly muscular. There was just faint outline of his abs. His chest, in Lily's mind, was perfect. Plus his arms were very sculpted and left Lily with even more flips in her stomach.

Suddenly, Lily realized that she had been standing in his doorway for far too long and quickly retreated. Lily silently laughed and then discovered that the next door was the bathroom.

When Lily was finished, she backed out of the bathroom shutting the door as quietly as she could.

"oof" Lily said as she turned around into something.

Lily was knocked breathless for a second and started to fall from the impact but then something caught her.

"Easy there, Lily."

Lily looked up into the hazel eyes of James. He was smiling at her. They just stared at each other for moment, their bodies only about an inch away.

"Er… James?" Lily said.

"Yes?"

"I think I can stand now. Would you mind letting go of me?"

"Oh, right, sorry." James let go but softly pushed Lily up against the bathroom door.

Lily didn't know what to do. She knew she wouldn't be able get away even if she tried but there was a part of her that told her not to run. She wasn't for sure why but she listened to that part.

James and Lily were pressed up against each other just staring into each others eyes. James had a little smile on his face hoping that this would work. He was prepared to get her if she tried to get away but she hadn't tried to yet.

Lily realized that James was still shirtless and this made her breathing become quicker. Then she realized that she was still in her pajamas which consisted of a lacy tank top and some fairly short shorts. She really wished that she had grabbed some different ones before she left but it was too late now. James had noticed what she was wearing and smiled even bigger.

Lily's stomach was going flip crazy and her breathing became even quicker the longer they were standing there. James was also breathing quicker and he could hear Lily's heart rate speed up. He knew he was victorious but kept that to himself.

Instead he leaned closer to Lily and whispered in her ear "Good morning, Lily."

She could feel his breath tickle her ear and neck and it sent tingles all over her body. The next thing she knew she was spun around and facing the bathroom door just as James disappeared behind it.

_What was that? _she thought still standing in front of the door. Finally, she decided that she should walk back to her room before James come out and saw her there. As her breathing slowed, she played with her hair. She always did this when she was seriously confused.

By the time she had gotten ready for the day, she still hadn't figured out what had transpired between her and James. She decided that she would put it out of her mind that way James wouldn't see that she was preoccupied about something.

As she made her way down the hall, she heard something that sounded interesting to her so she stopped and listened.

* * *

"That is BLOODY brilliant!" Sirius shouted.

"Shhh! Keep it down! We don't want Lily to hear!" James whispered fiercely.

"Oops, sorry mate. I just can't believe we were right about Evans. She does fancy you even if she doesn't know it yet!"

"Now, wait a minute. We don't know that she fancies me just that she reacted in a way that would suggest that. Honestly, that same reaction has happened before. I mean, think of every girl you have tried that on. All it is, is a girl's hormones reacting."

"Nah, I really think she does fancy you. I mean why else would she have come here in the first place even if her friends are on vacation. She has other friends besides Alice, Mary and Emily."

"Well, I guess you could be right."

"I'm always right."

James laughed, "No you're not."

"Okay, fine, I'm not but with this I am right."

"Fine, I will give you this one. So what should I do next to make Lily realize she does fancy me?"

* * *

Lily gasped and quickly went for the stairs so she wouldn't be caught accidentally. She couldn't believe what she just heard. James and Sirius were trying to get Lily to admit that she fancies James. Well, Lily did think she had started to fancy him but now she wasn't so sure.

Had all she felt for him been just her hormones talking? Well if it had she was going to use them to get James back. She was going to make him pay. The only question was how? Just then she entered the kitchen to see Mrs. Potter already at the table.

"Good morning, Mrs. Potter."

"Good morning. But what did I tell you about calling me Mrs. Potter?"

"Right, sorry Jillian. I guess old habits die hard."

"Not to worry dear. Now what would you like for breakfast?"

"Oh, er… I gue-" just then the boys came down the stairs.

"You should take her up on her pancakes. They're bloody spectacular!" Sirius said.

"Oh, okay. Sounds great."

"Alright, just sit yourselves down and they'll be ready before you can say Quidditch."

As soon as she said that, James and Sirius started to say Quidditch as many times as they could. Lily and Mrs. Potter were laughing because the boys looked ridiculous.

"You know, Lily, as soon as I said that I regretted it. I knew the boys would do this."

Lily laughed, "I know what you mean. You should have said something like…um…bumbling, blundering bunch of baboons."

"Sorry what was that?"

"Bumbling, blundering bunch of baboons."

"That's what I thought you said" Mrs. Potter laughed. "I guess it's too late now."

"I don't think so. James, Sirius?" Lily asked and the boys stopped.

"What?"

"Try saying this five time fast. Bumbling, blundering bunch of baboons."

They both tried but they couldn't get it. It was very hilarious to the girls. After a few more minutes, Mrs. Potter set a huge stack of pancakes on the table. Lily barely got what she wanted before the boys noticed and dug in.

After breakfast, the day was fairly quiet. The boys played chess and Quidditch outside. Mr. Potter had to go to work but only for a couple of hours. And Lily and Mrs. Potter just read and enjoyed the almost silence. All in all it was a lazy day.

* * *

The next couple days, Mrs. Potter dragged Lily with her wherever she went. Lily went willingly because she had never seen what adult witches do on a daily basis. They went shopping and visited Mrs. Potter's friends (Lily felt a little awkward imposing on their group but they made her feel welcome nonetheless).

She ran errands with Mrs. Potter and learned some cleaning tips while they pretty much scrubbed the house down. She also learned how to cook using magic which Lily found extremely helpful. By the time they were done each day, Lily was pretty much exhausted and went to bed early.

Over those days, Lily and Mrs. Potter really got to know each other. Lily loved Mrs. Potter like an older sister. And Mrs. Potter loved Lily like she was her own daughter. Lily fit in well with the Potters.

When Lily woke up, it was Friday and she couldn't believe that her week with the Potters and Sirius was almost up. She got ready and went down to breakfast. She realized that she only had a few more days to get James back and she still hadn't thought of anything to do.

"Good morning, Lily" Mrs. Potter said as Lily entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Jillian, James, Sirius."

The boys just grunted as they stuffed their faces with eggs, bacon, and toast.

"You know boys, it really helps to breath every once in awhile" Lily said sarcastically. They just glared as her and then went back to their food. Lily just laughed.

"Lily, dear would you like a cup of tea or juice or something?"

"Tea would be great, please."

Lily grabbed some toast and eggs as Mrs. Potter placed a cup of tea in front of her and joined them herself.

"So, boys. What do you have planned for today?" Mrs. Potter asked them. Each swallowed with difficulty and James was the first to answer.

"We were thinking about going down to the lake and swim for a bit. Lily you can come if you want."

"Oh yes, Lily go with them. You would have so much fun. I haven't even let you be a teenager while you have been here."

"Are you sure? There must be some things you need some help with."

"No, not a single thing I can't handle on my own. Go, have fun."

"Okay, sure, sounds good."

They made plans to meet up at half past ten to walk down to the lake. Lily asked Mrs. Potter to make them a picnic lunch that way they could stay out there longer without having to come back.

Lily then realized that in her rush to leave, she might not have grabbed a bathing suit. So she went to check. Luckily, she had but it wasn't the one she would have picked out. It happened to be the black one piece that she never liked.

And then an idea came to her. If she could change this bathing suit into a bikini, she might be able to use it to get James back. Thankfully, Mrs. Potter had shown her how to manipulate clothing earlier this week.

So Lily grabbed her wand and set the suit on the floor and began working. By the time she was done, it was almost time to go, so she quickly got ready. As she put on the suit, she smiled because she got what she wanted.

The bathing suit clung to her every curve. She had to make it slightly bigger considering the last time she wore the suit she was thirteen. She had maintained the original style but got rid of a big chunk in the middle to make it two separate pieces and molded them to look more like the way they should.

She was pleased that the black made her eyes look brighter and that her hair looked less orange-red and more brown-red like it should. Just as she decided to slip on some shorts to cover her up some, there was a knock on the door and the boys came in.

"Ready to go, Evans" Sirius said.

"Yes, let's go."

The boys turned and she followed them out. She wondered why James hadn't noticed yet but then realized that she had been in the shadowy part of the room so they probably couldn't see her.

The walk to the lake was about ten minutes. Lily walked behind the boys a little ways not wanting to interrupt their animated conversation on Quidditch. Finally, Lily noticed a little opening coming up in front of them. When they got there, the sight took Lily's breath away.

The lake water was slightly dark but she could tell it was still green. The sun shone down into the area making the water glisten and the trees look greener. There were wild flowers erupting out of the grass everywhere. In one word it was gorgeous.

James set down the food and he and Sirius sprinted into the water. They had been here many times before so they were impervious to the sights. But Lily just looked around for the longest time until she realized that the sun was starting to get hot and that the water looked so cool.

Sirius and James were splashing and dunking each other so they didn't notice Lily wasn't in the water yet. Lily took off her shorts and slowly made her way to the edge of the water. It was then that James and Sirius looked up and saw her standing there.

James' mouth opened a little and Sirius just smiled like he knew that Lily looked amazing under all her clothes. Lily noticed them looking at her like this and laughed inwardly. _This is going to work _she thought. As she got closer to the boys, she saw that James' mouth was still open.

When she got right next to James, she lifted two fingers and closed his mouth for him.

"You don't want to get a mouthful of water."

Then she trailed her hand over his shoulder and across his back a little as she walked around him and felt him shiver ever so slightly. She smiled, knowing this would work. Just then Sirius decided to splash James and at the same time he got Lily.

"SIRIUS! You arse!" Lily yelled.

Sirius and James just laughed as Lily wiped her eyes clear. Then she got an idea. She walked over to Sirius and whispered in his ear. He smiled and agreed.

"One…Two…THREE!"

On three, both Sirius and Lily started splashing James as much as they could.

"Stop…Stop…Stop!" James sputtered trying to keep water out of his mouth.

Lily and Sirius finally stopped and laughed until their sides hurt. For the next hour or so, they were in the water splashing and talking and whatever else. Then they decided that they should take a break and eat.

So they sat down and started eating just talking and laughing. They really were having a great time. Lily suggested that once they were done eating that they stay out of the water for a little bit so they could let their stomachs settle a bit. James and Sirius looked at her funny but stayed out for fifteen more minutes just to keep her off their backs.

For the next couple hours, they swam and talked and did whatever else they could to keep themselves entertained. They were about to get out when they heard Mrs. Potter's voice come out of nowhere.

"James, Sirius, Lily! Dinner will be ready in about an hour. Come home to clean up beforehand!"

As her voice died away, James laughed "That was really good timing."

As Sirius and James got out they noticed that Lily wasn't behind them. So they looked back to see she was still in the water.

"Come on Lily! You don't want to see my Mum angry. It's not pretty."

"Er…James? I would but it seems that my foot is stuck and I can't get it lo-" Lily was suddenly pulled under water.

"LILY!" both boys shouted and sped into the water.

Within seconds, they got to where she was. They both went under to find her. James found her first and held onto her so she wouldn't go farther into the lake while Sirius tried to get her foot loose. After a few more minutes, her foot was loose and they quickly swam to the surface.

Lily coughed a little but then fell unconscious. James and Sirius quickly got her to the shore and tried to get the water out of her system. But they didn't have much luck. James thought quickly.

"Sirius, Apparate back to the house and get my Mum. Bring her back she'll know what to do."

Sirius disappeared with a crack and within seconds he was back with Mrs. Potter. She knelt down next to Lily and tapped her chest once with her wand. In a matter of seconds, water shot from Lily's mouth and left her coughing. Everyone let out a sigh of relief when she stopped coughing and sat up.

"Thank… you… so… much" Lily managed between breaths.

"Lily, we're just glad you're okay" Mrs. Potter said.

"Well, that was frightening. Are you sure you're okay?" James asked concerned.

"Yes, I think so. Nothing like an almost drowning to top off the day" Lily laughed.

Everyone gave a small chuckle but they still weren't sure that she was okay. James helped her up and made sure she could stand by herself before letting go of her. They decided that James would Side-Along Apparate with Lily just to be safe.

When they arrived back, Lily said she was fine but Mrs. Potter made her take some Pepper Up potion which tasted awful but Lily obliged. Then she went upstairs to get cleaned up before dinner.

When she got into her room and grabbed her things before her shower, she noticed that she didn't have a towel. Mrs. Potter must have picked it up earlier. She set her stuff in the bathroom and went to ask Mrs. Potter where more towels were when she thought of something.

She never really got James back like she meant to and James would know where the towels were so she decided to ask him.

When she knocked on his door, he was surprised to see her there. She smiled at him and took a step towards him but he didn't back away.

"James" she said sweetly taking another step towards him "your Mum must have taken my towel earlier and I don't know where they are."

She took the final step towards him and they were now pressed against each other.

"Would you mind getting me one?" she asked while running a finger down his chest and smiling as seductive as she could without laughing.

"Er…yeah…sure" James answered very breathily and slid around Lily and disappeared for a minute. As he grabbed the towel, he tried to slow his breathing but with difficulty. He was surprised that she still had her bathing suit on. She looked bloody amazing in it. As he walked back to his room, she was leaning against his door frame.

When he got there, she walked right up to him, got on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear "thank you", grabbed the towel and walk to the bathroom leaving him standing there.

* * *

James sat on his bed trying to figure out what just happened. When Lily touched him and whispered in his ear, tingles spread all over his body. He ruffled his hair some and realized he hadn't done that in a long time.

He heard his door open and close and saw Sirius standing there with a 'what the hell just happened' look on his face.

"Prongs, mate, what happened after Lily asked for that towel?"

"What? You heard that?"

"Well, yeah. I heard someone knock on your door, then I heard Lily ask for the towel. But I didn't want to open my door in case you two noticed me so I strained really hard to hear. The next thing I heard were two doors closing. I figured it was safe to come out and then I came here."

"Hope you didn't strain yourself too hard, Padfoot."

Sirius hit him in the head with a pillow "Ha ha very funny. So what went on?"

"Well you heard Lily come to my door" Sirius nodded "then she kept taking steps closer and closer to me until we were pressed together. Mind you she still had her bathing suit on and looked bloody amazing."

"Yeah, yeah I know how you feel about her body. Move on."

"Okay, okay. Then as she asked for a towel she ran her finger down my chest. It took my breath away because, well it felt good and she still looked beautiful. So I said I would and slipped around her to grab her a towel."

"When I came back, she was leaning against the door frame, her hair falling gracefully over her shoulders and then she walked to me, reached up to whisper in my ear and grabbed the towel and left."

With every word James spoke, the smile on Sirius' face grew. Then when James was done speaking, Sirius burst out in laughter.

"Oh ho ho, she is good! She is really good!" Sirius laughed

"Padfoot, what are you talking about?"

"Lily, of course."

"Yes I realize who you are talking about but why is she good?"

"Because she played you Prongsie! She is smart. Evans must have figured out what you were planning to do so she used it back on you" Sirius was still laughing as James' face showed he understood.

"No way! How could I not see this coming?" James was flabbergasted.

"I don't know mate. But you have to give her this, that was amazing! I bow down to her this one time!" Sirius joked.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't try to get her back. It could just blow up in my face and then I would be back at square one."

"No way Prongs, I'm not letting you give up like this. You're a Marauder! Marauder's don't give up!"

"Yeah, okay but she is only here for another day or so. What do you suggest I do?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Realizations**

After that eventful Friday, Saturday was fairly boring. Mr. Potter didn't have to work so he took James and Sirius out for a "guys day." Mrs. Potter and Lily did a few things around the house but that only lasted until lunch time, then they did their separate things.

A little after lunch time, Mr. Potter and the boys came back. Mr. Potter had news for his wife and told the boys to go do something. They didn't want to get into trouble so they obeyed and went to play Quidditch again. They asked Lily to play but she said she had some things to do.

After dinner, Lily went up to her room to write to Alice. She had received a letter from her earlier that day but didn't know what to say to her. She had finally thought of something to tell her when the door to her room was thrown open and closed just as quickly.

"James, what are you doing in here?"

"Sorry Lily. I'm hiding from Sirius because I pulled a prank on him. Do you think I could stay in here for awhile?"

"Well, I suppose so but you're going to have to tell why I'm agreeing to harbor a fugitive?" she laughed.

"Okay, deal" he said as he locked the door. "Well a couple of days ago, Sirius, locked my legs while I was walking down the stairs. Luckily, I was almost to the bottom when he did it and then he ran away but first he stole my wand so I couldn't chase him."

Lily was laughing really hard at this point.

"Oh, was that… the crash… I heard? I… wondered what… that was" Lily said between laughs.

James didn't think that it was as funny as Lily did but continued anyway.

"So, after dinner Sirius fell asleep on the couch. I took my chances and changed him into a very hairy looking girl. But the kicker is that once he notices and tries to get up he will get stuck once he takes two steps from the couch. But I'll only have a couple of minutes once he wakes up before he comes after me."

"Okay, but why hide in this room?"

"Because I figured it would be one of the last places he looks for me."

"Makes sense. Okay but don't bother me. I want to get this letter off to Alice before the owl she sent leaves."

"Sure, I will be as quiet as a mouse."

With that James sat on the bed, waiting for Sirius. Lily turned back to her letter and began writing.

_Alice_

_Your trip with Frank sounds fabulous. I wish I were there but I wouldn't want to ruin your fun. I have always wanted to go to Scotland and see the beautiful landscape. You must tell me all about it when we meet up once you and Mary are back. Then we will have to tell Emily sometime otherwise she will hex us to oblivion and back._

_So when we decide on a date for our meeting, I have some really interesting news for you and I think you will find it equally interesting or even more interesting than I do. Well I will leave you to think about what my news may be, so until then._

_Lots of Love_

_Lily_

As soon as Lily finished, she saw James put his arms on each side of her and felt him ever so lightly on her back. He was basically pinning her into her seat and she couldn't move.

"Do you mind?" Lily asked.

"What's this interesting news you have to tell Alice?"

"You read my letter? How dare you?"

"Oh lighten up Lily. What you wrote doesn't reveal anything about you except that you want to visit Scotland sometime and the fact that you and your friends are going to meet up sometime soon."

"I know but it's the principle of the thing."

"The principle of the thing? What principle of the thing?" Lily could feel James laughing against her back. She turned to look at him only to realize his face was only about an inch away.

"Well, you see James, it's not very nice to read someone else's mail. You don't see me snooping around your room reading any letters you may have left out." James still hadn't let her move.

"Okay, I see your point but if you were snooping around my room you probably wouldn't be doing it for very long" he chuckled.

"What do you mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes to glare at him.

"I would have caught you the moment you started looking around and then I would have occupied your time in other ways" he raised his eyebrows a couple of times.

"James! That's awful. Why would _I_ let _you_ occupy my time like that? And how would you have caught me? You could have been out of the house when I started to snoop. And would you please let me up?"

James backed away while Lily sent the owl off with her letter. When she turned around, she saw that he hadn't moved much. He was smiling at her in the way that could take your breath away. His eyes focused on hers and he ruffled that perfectly messy hair of his and stepped closer to her while she stepped closer to him.

"Well, you have me stumped on how I would have caught you since I am hypothetically out of the house."

"Ha, I knew it" Lily laughed.

James just smiled and pulled Lily closer. Lily's smile faltered a little and her breath quickened but she kept her composure. She wasn't going to let James win this one.

"You know" Lily whispered "you never answered my other question."

"Which one was that?"

"The one about _me_ letting _you_ occupy my time."

"Oh, yes, that one."

James didn't answer right away. He wanted the moment to be drawn out longer to get Lily to fall to his every will. They leaned toward each other, both knew what would happen if they kept going.

BANG!

The door was blasted open and Lily and James jumped apart at the sound. They looked towards the door and saw an angry…Sirius?

James burst out laughing but it took Lily a little bit to figure out who it was. Sirius really was an ugly girl. Lily started laughing but she stopped as soon as Sirius gave her a murderous look. Then she turned around so Sirius wouldn't see her laughing and murder her too.

"JAMES! TURN ME BACK NOW! OR FACE MY WRATH!" Sirius yelled.

"Alright, alright, but you know you deserved it" James laughed as he said the counter curse.

"Can I turn around now or will my eyes continue to bleed?" Lily laughed.

"Oh very funny Lily, but yes you can turn around" Sirius said sarcastically but continued to glare at James.

"Sirius, I'm sorry to say but you really do make an ugly girl" Lily told him.

"Oh I get it already. But never mind my embarrassing transformation, what was going on in _here_?" he said raising his eyebrows.

"What? N-Nothing was g-going on in here" James sputtered avoiding Sirius' eyes.

"Oh, don't give me that. I saw how close you two were before you noticed me standing in the door."

Neither James or Lily spoke and they didn't meet each others eyes. Sirius kept looking back and forth between the two but saw that neither one was going to give anything up.

"Okay, I can see when I'm not wanted. Good night lovebirds." and with that Sirius left.

Lily sighed and looked straight into James' eyes. He looked back. They both felt the same thing but neither of them knew exactly what it was. James was the first one to break the silence.

"Well, I guess this is good night."

"I guess so. G'night James."

"G'night Lily."

* * *

As James suspected, Sirius came into his room in the middle of the night to find out what really happened.

"Come on Prongs, you know you want to tell me."

"There is nothing to tell"

James didn't think this was something he should reveal to Sirius even if Lily never told him not to tell.

"Please, please, please?"

"No, now go away. I actually would like to get some sleep."

"Fine, but I will get this out of you sometime." and Sirius left.

James sighed, glad he got Sirius off his back, for now. It took him forever to fall asleep because he couldn't get Lily out of his mind. She looked amazing tonight and was sad that she was leaving tomorrow but knew that she had to. He would find a way to see her again before school starts, he just had to.

* * *

The next morning Lily woke up and groaned. She had to go back and face whatever her parents were going to do to her. She knew that it wasn't going to be pretty but she had expected it. She got up and packed her stuff. After a few minutes, there was a knock on her door.

"Come in" and Mrs. Potter entered.

"Good morning, Lily."

"Good morning. What did you need?"

"Oh well, let's sit down for a minute." She sat down next to Lily on the bed and continued.

"Lily, you know you are always welcome here, right?" Lily nodded not quite sure where this was going. "Well, if you don't want to go back today, because I can tell you don't really want to, you are more than welcome to stay longer."

"Oh, thank you, but I really shouldn't keep my parents worrying any longer than I already have."

"I understand, dear, I was just offering" and Mrs. Potter patted Lily's leg and gave her a concerned smile.

"Was there something else you wanted?"

"Well, yes actually. I have noticed how you and my son have acted around each other this week. And it makes me _so _happy to see him look at you the way he does. I can tell he really cares about you and that you really care about him. I know I'm not your mother but please don't do anything to get either of your hearts broken. I love you Lily, but I know girls and they can be mean. Now, I can't see how you would break his heart, you're too sweet, but I'm just asking that you will be careful with him. I wouldn't want either of you to get hurt."

"I-I…" Lily was lost for words. She had tears in her eyes and felt bad for the way she has treated James in the past.

"Oh, Lily I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry" Mrs. Potter said as she pulled Lily into a hug. After a few minutes, Lily had stopped crying and pulled back to look at Mrs. Potter.

"Jillian, I would never do that to your son. He's like one of my best friends and please don't tell him this. Can we just keep this between the two of us? You know private girl talk."

"Of course, you can trust me."

"Well, I think I'm starting to really fancy James" Lily told her giving her a sheepish smile.

"Oh Lily that's wonderful! I thought I saw something like that."

"Please don't tell him."

"Not to worry, it is our little secret. Now how about a spot of breakfast?"

"Absolutely."

After breakfast, Lily finished packing her things and made her way down stairs. It was a little after ten but she figured she should get home and that if she had to, she could put up with Vernon for a few hours.

"Thank you so much for having me." Lily said as she hugged Mrs. Potter good-bye.

"You are very welcome. And remember what I told you earlier" she said with a wink.

"Well, James, Sirius I guess I will see you around. Good-bye" and gave each a little hug. She gave Mr. Potter a small hug and grabbed her bag and walked out the door but not before giving everyone a smile.

Once she passed the front gate, she spun on the spot and Apparated a little ways from home. Lily walked the rest of the distance just to be sure no one saw her and walked through her front door.

"Lily?" she heard her mother call and then saw her come around the corner.

"Oh, Lily! It is you. I'm so glad you're home" Mrs. Evans exclaimed showering Lily in hugs and kisses.

"Alright, Mum. I get it, you missed me" Lily said as she tried to pull away from her mother.

"You are in so much trouble, young lady. But we can talk about that later."

"I know, Mum and I will fully accept whatever punishment you give me. I shouldn't have done it but I couldn't stand another day in this house let alone a week with Tuney and her boyfriend."

After that, Lily stayed out of sight hoping that it would reduce her sentence some. As she suspected Vernon was still here. She had a hard time not saying anything to him when she passed him on her way to the stairs but managed to bite her tongue.

Later that evening she sat down with her parents and talked to them about why she left and many other things that she should have told them earlier. Well, with her honesty her sentence was reduced by two weeks! Now she was only grounded for a week which was okay by her.

* * *

During that week, she had received an owl from Alice, Mary and Emily. They set up a date and place to meet for Lily's interesting news which would be in two weeks on the 15th of July. Lily wrote Emily as well telling her of their plans and wishing that she could be able to come.

The next two weeks passed by quickly. Lily saw very little of her sister and her boyfriend which Lily was grateful for. Her parents continually asked her where she had spent her time but she refused to tell them.

Finally, it was the day that she was meeting her friends for lunch. They planned on meeting in the Leaky Cauldron and would decide where to go from there. When it was ten till twelve, Lily left for London.

When she walked into the bar she saw Alice and Mary already in conversation. Alice looked so tan that it complimented her shoulder length brown hair and her small stature perfectly. Mary on the other hand, looked exactly the same. Her long blonde hair shined ever so lightly in the dim lighting and she looked taller than when she last saw her.

Lily walked over to them and they squealed when they saw her. After hugging and seeing how everyone was, they heard someone call their names and looked toward the door.

"Emily!" they squealed at the same time and ran over to her.

Emily's curly dark chocolate hair was pulled up and her smile was bigger than ever. Lily was the first one to reach her and they nearly fell over from the impact. Luckily, Lily and Emily are the same height so they quickly balanced each other out.

"I thought you were in Ireland?"

"I was but when I got Lily's letter talking about your get together, I knew I just had to come. So I asked my parents and they said it would be alright as long as I was back before tomorrow."

"Well, it's fabulous that you came. Now we won't have to repeat Lily's interesting news to you" Alice laughed.

"Oh, Lily has some interesting news. Do tell" Emily asked, intrigued.

They decided to go into Diagon Alley to the ice cream store that was located there. They got settled down with some lunch and waited for Alice and Mary to finished talking of their vacations before they descended on Lily.

"Okay, Lily. What is your oh so interesting news?" Emily asked.

"Okay, so a couple of weeks ago, I stayed with James."

"Wait. You stayed with James? James Potter?" Alice asked.

"Yes, the one and only."

All three girls were kind of shocked but their faces burst into large smiles.

"Lily, come on, you have to give us more" Mary asked.

For the next twenty minutes, Lily told them everything. The reason she left in the first place, how Lily and James resolved their problem, what happened during that week, what Lily felt every time she and James ended up that close, and everything that Lily thought about James.

The girls giggled and laughed, and were really concerned when Lily told them about her near death experience. Once Lily was done, the three girls looked at each other and then Alice and Mary nodded Emily on.

"Lily, do you know what this means?" Emily asked giggling a little. Lily shook her head.

"It means, that you really do fancy James. Not that you think you do because you do."

"Really? But all those tingles and my stomach doing flips was just hormones right?"

"Lily, I don't think so. I get those same feelings when Frank and I are together" Alice said.

"Alice is right. I have been that close to lots of guys before and not one of them made me feel that way. Boy do I wish they did, but they don't" Emily laughed.

"Alright, so maybe I fancy James" Lily started blushing when she said his name.

"Oh, Lily! I think this may be more than just fancying James. You could be in love with him" Emily giggled more. She was always so good with this kind of thing.

"Oh, I don't think I'm in love with him. I'm only seventeen!"

"Frank and I are in love and we are only seventeen."

"Yes, but you have been going out since fourth year. James and I have only been friends for a year."

"Lily, let me ask you something. Did you feel happy every time you saw James?" Mary asked.

"Yes, but wh-"

"When you accidentally went into his room, did you or did you not stand there like an idiot and stare at his body?"

"Yes."

"What did you feel when you looked at him?"

"I felt excited and happy that he looked that way. And I was kind of jealous of other girls who might have seen him like that. But I still don-"

"Lily, Shhh. Did you or did you not want to kiss him before Sirius barged in?"

"Yes, I did!"

"Does James consider your feelings? Take care of you even if you don't want it?"

"Yes."

"Why do you think you started to tolerate him last year?"

"Because he deflated his head and became a real person that I could get along with and enjoy spending time with him. And I even love fighting with him."

Alice, Mary and Emily looked at each other then at Lily. They gave her a look that said "come on Lily, you have to see it." Lily was silent for quite awhile but then looked up with a very innocent looking smile on her face. The other girls just smiled and nodded, encouraging her to go on.

"Oh my, I think I'm in love with James" Lily laughed.

"Lily, why are you laughing? You just realized that you love James" Emily asked in disbelief.

"I'm laughing at how daft I was. At how I couldn't see it until you laid it out for me."

"Oh, well in that case" Emily paused "you're welcome" all three said together and laughed.

Lily laughed with them and listened while they told Lily of how daft she can be. When they were finished, they left the ice cream place to look around Diagon Alley a little. They went into Flourish and Blotts and for some reason Quality Quidditch Supply. By the time they were done it was near four and Mary had to get home.

Lily asked if any of them wanted to come for dinner. Emily and Alice said they would but Mary had family coming over so she couldn't. They said good-bye to Mary and then left for Lily's. Mrs. Evans was so happy to see Alice and Emily and was just as happy for them to stay for dinner.

After dinner, the girls went up to Lily's room to talk. They talked about everything. But after awhile, Lily kept drifting out of the conversation. She couldn't help but think of how she could be in love with James. After pulling Lily back into the conversation several times, Emily thought it was time to do something about it.

"Lily. Lily! LILY!" Emily called.

"Oh, sorry, what?"

"Okay, what is going on in there? You keep drifting in and out."

"I do. Oh, I guess I didn't notice." Alice and Emily weren't buying it.

"Come on, we're your friends. I think we would know if you are preoccupied with something."

"Oh, Emily! I know what is keeping her mind preoccupied. She's thinking about James." Lily blushed and the girls started giggling.

"Okay, yes I was thinking about James."

"Lily, give us something. What were you thinking about?"

"Fine, I will tell but don't laugh."

"Why would we laugh?"

"Because I know you."

"Okay, fine we promise we won't laugh."

"Well, I was thinking about how his hair is so perfectly messy and how his hazel eyes glow when he laughs. His smile just makes me melt and his body… oh, so bloody amazing. He is sweet but arrogant at the same time and knows what he wants. He just makes me feel good all the time and we know each other really well." By now, Lily was smiling and she was still picturing James' half naked body.

"Lily, you have to do something about this" Emily stated.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are obviously in love with him. You can't just sit back and wait for him to come to you. You are a strong and independent woman and you wait for no one."

Lily laughed at the way Emily said it. "Okay, what should I do?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: When Tragedy Strikes**

During the next few weeks, Lily took Alice and Emily's advice. Since she and James were friends, they told her to start writing to him just to keep things friendly and to stay in touch. They sent letters back and forth and even met up a couple of times with Sirius, Frank, Alice and Mary. Usually, they met up at someone's house and most of the time it was either James or Lily's.

When they would meet up, everyone noticed that James and Lily were a lot closer than they had ever been. James was a little surprised by this but didn't question Lily assuming she knew what she was doing, plus he liked it. Frank and Alice were as sickening as ever but they mostly kept to themselves during these times. Even Emily showed up a few times which made things interesting. She and Sirius were always the life of the party.

Also, to Lily's dismay, Petunia and Vernon got engaged. Lily would unfortunately gain Vernon as a brother-in-law but she would suck it up because he made her sister happy. They may not get along, but Lily did love her sister.

As July ended, the first of August came with some exciting news for Lily. Lily and her Mum were sitting at the table when they heard a tapping on the window. It was an owl. Lily went over and let the owl in. She took the letter from him and gave him some food before he took off again.

Lily recognized the familiar envelope from Hogwarts. But this letter felt different to her, heavier. When she opened it, she saw a badge and an extra letter in there from Dumbledore himself. She read the letter over a couple times not believing what she was reading. Finally, she had to accept the reality because it was her name on the envelope.

"Lily, what is it?" her mother asked noticing the shocked look on her daughter's face.

"Oh, er…I have been made Head Girl at school."

"What? Oh that is wonderful! I'm so proud of you" her mother said as she hugged Lily a little too tightly.

"Mum… can't… breath" Lily gasped.

"Oops, sorry dear. I'm just so very proud of you. Oh, look I'm crying a little" she apologized as she wiped away a tear.

Just then, Mr. Evans walked in the room.

"What's going on?"

"Lily has just been made Head Girl at school."

"Lily that's wonderful" he said giving her a hug.

"Thank you. I just can't really believe it. I mean I'm so happy but I'm still so shocked."

Lily finished her breakfast in a daze. She couldn't believe that Dumbledore (and the other teachers) trusted her enough for this responsibility. But she knew she wasn't going to let them down. Lily about spilled her tea because her mother startled her.

"Dear? What would you say about getting Lily something special to show her how proud we are of her?"

"Mum, Dad, you don't have to get me anything."

"Nonsense, you deserve it."

"What does the freak deserve?" Petunia asked as she entered the kitchen.

"Petunia, don't call your sister a freak. And Lily just found out she was made Head Girl at school."

"So? That doesn't mean she deserves anything."

"You know for once, I agree with Tuney" Lily laughed.

"Well that's a first" Petunia said in disbelief.

"Girls, stop. Lily, I won't hear of it. Your father and I will go out and get you something. End of discussion."

"Okay, but nothing too extravagant. Please?"

"Deal."

At ten, Lily's parents left to run some errands and pick Lily something out. Lily cleaned up the house some and looked over what supplies she would need for school this year. She made herself some lunch and thought that it was strange that her parents weren't back yet. They only had to do a few things but she shrugged it off thinking that they still hadn't found Lily, according to them, that perfect gift.

The next thing Lily knew it was almost three and they weren't home yet. Lily started to get worried. Usually if they were going to be late they would have called. Just as Lily was about to look out the window to see if their car was coming, there was a soft knock on the door. Lily rushed to get it hoping it was her parents but it wasn't.

"Can I help you?" she asked the officer at her door.

"Is Lily or Petunia Evans here?"

"I'm Lily and my sister is in the other room. Shall I get her?" he nodded and waited as Petunia came to the door.

"Lily what is it?" Lily didn't answer but instead looked at the officer afraid of what was going to come next.

"I have some bad news for you" he began "your parents were in a terrible car accident. A truck crossed over the line and smashed head first into your parent's car. I'm sorry to tell you, but they didn't make it. Your parents are dead."

The officer finished and gave each girl a sympathy pat on the shoulder, a paper with numbers telling them what to do next and a box that he said was found in the car. Then he left leaving the girls holding on to each other.

Lily shut the door, still shocked from the news of her parents' death. She fell to the floor and started crying and soon after Petunia did the same thing. For the longest time, they just cried and held each other forgetting all their differences.

After awhile, Lily stopped crying knowing that it wouldn't do any good. She got up and made her and Petunia a cup of tea. She led her sister to the table and they drank in silence. After hours of just sitting there, Petunia suddenly got up and walked away. Lily figured she just needed time to herself and let her be.

Lily decided to open the box the officer gave her, already knowing that it was her gift from her parents. Nestled into the soft blue silk sat a silver, lily flower pendant on a silver chain. When she saw that she started to cry harder than ever before. She looked up startled when the kitchen door burst open. Petunia looked furious.

"This is all your fault!" she screamed at Lily.

"What's all my fault?"

"It's your fault that Mum and Dad are dead!"

"How is it _my _fault?" Lily asked in disbelief. Her voice just as loud as Petunia's.

"It's because of you and your stupid 'head girl' thing that they went out in the first place. Anything for their precious _Lily_!" Petunia sneered.

"No way, don't you dare put this on me! It's the truck driver's fault that Mum and Dad are gone!"

"I don't care what you say; this is still your fault! They have always paid more attention to you than they have me! They have always spent more time with you! Ever since you got that letter!"

"What? Do you really think that Mum and Dad paid more attention to me? Spent more time with me? Are you bloody mental?"

"No, I am not mental! It's completely true!"

"Oh, so if it's true, then what do you call all those times that I was away at school and you were here with them? For the past six years, I have only seen them for a couple of weeks during Christmas and for a few months during the summer. You're the one that has been with them the most!"

"That doesn't mean anything! Do you think for one second that because you were away that they focused all their attention on me? Because they didn't, they treated me no differently than they did when you were home. Whenever you came home, they all but forgot me!"

"Oh, Tuney, I had no idea" Lily lowered her voice but it didn't last long.

"Don't give me that! I don't want your sympathy."

"Fine! Then I won't give it to you! But I'm your sister, Tuney, how could you blame me for our parents' death?" Lily pleaded.

"You are no sister of mine" Petunia snapped viciously.

Lily didn't know what to say. She knew that they were never best friends but she always thought that they were still sisters. Lily was in tears again.

"Lily, just get out of here and go back to _your _world. I will call Vernon and he will keep me company. I don't even think you should come to the funeral."

"But, Petunia, they're my parents too!"

"I know, but I don't want to see your face ever again!"

"Fine, I'll just go then!" Lily grabbed the box with her necklace in it and Disapparated right in front of Petunia. She had never done that before so her sister was shocked to see her disappear like that. But Lily didn't care; she just wanted to get out of there.

When she landed, she almost fell to the ground because she was crying so hard but was caught by Alice. Alice grabbed her and led her into the house.

"Lily, I saw you appear. What's wrong?" Alice asked as she set Lily on the couch.

"My… parents… died… today" Lily managed in between gasps and sobs.

"Oh, Lily" Alice said as she started to cry "you can cry on my shoulder as long as you want."

Six hours and several cups of tea later…

Alice finally managed to get Lily to fall asleep. She figured that it would be the best thing for her considering her awful day. Alice sent an owl to both Mary and Emily telling them what happened and that she would send them another when she knew more details. Alice figured Lily was exhausted so she thought that this would be a good time to get some sleep.

* * *

The Potter house was very quiet. As it should be considering it was two in the morning. The Potter's and Sirius were sleeping peacefully until a loud bang on the door woke them up. They all grabbed their wands and headed downstairs to the front door. As they walked to the door, Mr. Potter took the lead, followed by Mrs. Potter and then James and Sirius.

Mr. Potter yanked the door open and sighed in relief when he saw that it was only Alice and Lily. But then they saw that Alice was supporting a crying Lily and quickly got them inside. Mrs. Potter helped Alice lead Lily to the table and then Lily just slumped on the table and sobbed even harder.

"Alice, what happened?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"Oh, I want to tell you but I'm afraid if I speak about it, she will start sobbing even worse. Do you think we could get her calmed down and maybe put her asleep?"

"Of course, I will make her some tea."

Mrs. Potter got to work. She made a cup of tea for everyone but put a Calming potion and a Sleeping potion in Lily's cup.

"Lily, dear, please drink this. It will make you feel better."

Lily nodded and started to drink. Almost immediately she stopped crying and a minute or two later she fell asleep. Mr. Potter went to pick her up but James said he would do it. James picked Lily up and cradled her in his arms. He held her close but not too close so he would jostle her and wake her up. Sleeping potions may be powerful but too much movement can sometimes wake the person up. He decided to lay her on his bed because it was the most comfortable and considering how she looked, she needed a good night's sleep. He laid her down and covered her up with a blanket then turned to leave but he heard her whisper something that made him stop.

"James, please don't leave me" Lily mumbled sleepily. James went over to her and whispered back.

"Don't worry, Lily. I promise I will be back."

She just managed a "thank you" before she fell asleep. James left but kept the door open a crack so he could get in the room making as little noise as possible. He went back down the stairs and entered the kitchen and saw that no one had moved since he left. When he sat down his mother gave his hand a squeeze and a small smile.

"James, we waited for you before Alice told us anything. Okay, Alice, go ahead."

"Today, well I guess yesterday, Lily's parents passed away" Alice started crying a little and so did Mrs. Potter.

Alice told them everything Lily told her. She said how Lily found out, that Lily and her sister had a fight but she couldn't get Lily to tell her any of the details, and how Lily showed up at her house almost completely on the ground. She told them how she finally managed to get Lily to sleep.

"Then about fifteen minutes ago, I woke up to Lily screaming. She started sobbing again and she kept saying James' name over and over. I didn't know what to do. So I figured that you would be able to do something. My parents don't keep potions in the house because of my younger siblings and she did keep saying James' name. I hope that was okay and I'm sorry I scared you when I pounded on the door."

"Alice, you did the right thing bringing her here" Mr. Potter said giving her a pat on the back.

"So, she really didn't say anything about what she and her sister were fighting about?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"No, all she said was that she came right to my house when they were done fighting. Oh, and I couldn't get this box" Alice showed them Lily's box "out of her hands until she fell asleep. I didn't open it because I didn't think she would want me to."

Alice set the box on the table and no one touched it. It seemed that everyone agreed that Lily would show them in time. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Mrs. Potter spoke.

"What do you think Lily's going to do? I'm guessing that she doesn't want to go back to the house where her sister is but I can't speak for her" Mrs. Potter said.

"I think that in the morning Lily will be able to tell us what she wants to do. Do you mind if I come back in the morning to be with her?" Alice asked.

"Of course you can come in the morning. You may stay the rest of the night if you want."

"Oh, thank you, but I really should get back to my siblings."

Alice bid them good night and said she would be back in the morning. Neither of the Potter's or Sirius spoke but instead went back upstairs to bed. When James entered his room, he saw that Lily was in exactly the same spot he left her. He decided that he would sit against the bed and rest his head on the bed rather than being on the bed next to her. James fell asleep quickly and didn't wake until he felt someone gently shaking his shoulder.

He realized that he must have fallen over at one point because his glasses were askew and his face was pressed against the floor. He sat up and saw that Lily was the one who was waking him. She looked awful but she had a good reason to. Her face was all blotchy and her eyes were still puffy and red. Her hair stuck up in every direction and he suspected that it would be terribly difficult to brush through.

She gave him the tiniest smile before she sat back on the bed. He gave her a concerned smile and sat down next to her.

"Morning" she said.

"Morning Lily" and as he said it she put her head on his shoulder.

"I suppose you know by now."

"Yes, Alice told us after we got you to sleep." They sat in silence for awhile before Lily spoke.

"Yesterday, my sister and I had the worst fight we have ever had" she began.

"Lily, you don't have to tell me this, if you don't want to."

"I know, but I need to tell someone and I think I'm calm enough to do so."

Lily told him word for word what the two said to each other. The fight was still fresh in her mind, like it had just happened. He listened in silence and with every word she spoke, he got angrier at Petunia. When she finished, Lily was crying a little and waited for James to speak. She could tell he was angry because he was shaking some.

"Lily, how could your sister say that to you?" James outraged.

"I don't know, but she did and it's done. I can't do anything to change it."

When James calmed down, Lily asked him to help her to the bathroom. She was weak and exhausted from all that crying. After she finished, they went downstairs to the kitchen where they saw Alice, Sirius and Mr. and Mrs. Potter. They all looked up when they entered and Mrs. Potter rushed over and gave Lily a hug. Once they all sat down, Alice got straight to it.

"Lily, we all want to know what your sister said to you. I understand if you don't want to tell us but we really would like to know."

Lily nodded and begun. She repeated for them what she told James. They all were horrorstruck that someone could blame their sister like that. Alice and Mrs. Potter were in tears and the men just looked angry. Mrs. Potter finished making breakfast and everyone dug in. Lily didn't eat much which worried James but he didn't say anything. He knew she was grieving. After breakfast, Sirius asked Lily what she was going to do now.

"Well, I have been thinking about this and I'm going to go back." They all gasped a little and asked why.

"I'm not going to stay but I need to go to their funeral no matter what my sister says. I'm going to pack up things in my room and some other stuff around the house but I'm not going to stay there longer than I have to."

"Lily, where are you going to go?" Alice asked.

"I don't know yet. I'm sure wherever it is, will be better than staying with Petunia."

"I insist that you move in with us. I will have it no other way" Mrs. Potter said and her husband fully agreed.

"Oh, thank you, but I couldn't impose like that."

"No, you will move in here with us and that is final" she said with finality in her voice.

"Okay, I guess I can't argue with that. Thank you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Finally**

Over the next few days, Lily packed up her belongings in her room and other items that she had left in places throughout the house. She was glad that she had pictures of her parents in her room so her sister wouldn't notice pictures missing and track her down. Lily also took some things that she and her dad had shared specifically between them and the same kind of things between her and her mother.

When Lily showed up after that fight, Petunia was furious but she couldn't act on it because there were always people coming and going paying their respects. Lily stayed out of her way only to show herself before she took things to the Potter's. She couldn't Apparate in the house in case Vernon got nosey.

Lily had spent most of the days in her old room packing things but the rest were spent either at the Potter's or with Mary, Alice and Emily. Everyone said they would go with Lily to the funeral but Lily refused saying she needed to do this by herself. After her parents were finally laid to rest and the other mourners had left, including Petunia and Vernon, she turned around to see James standing a little ways away. She walked over to him and began to cry into his arms. They walked around for a little bit to make sure no one was around before they Disapparated back to James'.

For the next week, Lily ate very little and slept a lot. Everyone seemed to notice because she was paler than normal and she had lost some weight. Her hair didn't have the brightness to it that it normally did and the sparkle in her eyes wasn't there. Eventually, James managed to get her to start eating again and she started to get her color back.

During the second week after her parent's funeral, Lily started to become herself again. She laughed and smiled and joked like she use to. Everyone started to relax around her, less afraid that they might say something to set her off. She even joined James and Sirius for a game of Quidditch. She almost won too but James scored at the last minute.

Soon after, they met up with Remus, Peter, Frank, Alice, Emily, and Mary in Diagon Alley to get their school supplies. James and Sirius had warned Remus and Peter ahead of time about Lily's parents because Lily still didn't look quiet herself yet. No one mentioned anything about it and they had a fantastic time.

While at Diagon Alley, Alice and Frank announced their engagement to their friends. Everyone was so happy for them and it actually lifted Lily spirits. She felt more like herself again. Alice told them that they were planning on getting married shortly after school ended because they wanted to finish school and take their N.E.. The girls were so excited for them that they almost forgot the reason that they were there in the first place.

* * *

James woke up in the middle of the night after having one of those dreams where it feels like you're falling. He groaned and fell back against his pillow. He squinted at his watch and saw that it was a little before three in the morning. He tried to fall asleep again but just couldn't. Instead he decided to go where he used to go when he couldn't sleep. He hadn't done this in a few years but grabbed his glasses anyway.

All the way around his house, just above the first story, there was a balcony. There was no railing around it, only a short ledge. His window, Sirius' window and Lily's window all opened out onto this balcony. When James stepped out of his window, he saw that he wasn't alone. Lily was sitting there with her legs crossed and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She looked over when she heard James sit down next to her.

"I guess I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep" Lily laughed quietly.

"I guess not" James smiled "do you come out here often?"

"Not really. I've come out here a few times but not much. I just got out here a little bit before you did. What about you?"

"I use to a lot but I haven't in a few years." They were silent for a few more minutes and just stared at the moon. Lily was the first to break the silence.

"James, you must be cold. You forgot to put a shirt on. Here, my blanket is big enough for us both" she said unwrapping herself from the blanket and offering him some.

"Nah, I'm use to this." But Lily gave him a look that said "get under here or else."

James and Lily scooted closer until they were both covered by the blanket. Lily hesitated a little but leaned into James while he wrapped an arm around her pulling her closer. They sat there for the longest time before either of them spoke again.

"I guess congratulations are in order, Miss Head Girl" James laughed.

"Oh, thank you." Lily blushed "I was really shocked when I found out."

"Why? You're the obvious choice for the job especially compared to the other choices."

Lily laughed "I guess you're right. But I was still shocked. James, did I ever show you what was in that box? I know I showed your Mum and my friends."

James shook his head and Lily pulled away from him to face him. She took the necklace from her hand and placed it in James'. He picked it up and examined it.

"It's what my parents got me for becoming head girl. When I first received it, I hadn't taken it out of the box and I didn't until a few days ago. That's when I found the inscription on the back."

James flipped the necklace over and found the inscription she was talking about. It said _For Lily, Our flower and beautiful daughter. Love Mum and Dad._ He told her to turn around and he put the necklace around her neck. She turned back to him and gave him a slightly teary smile. He thought she was going to sit back in his arms but then she spoke again.

"James, I have to tell you something. First, I want to thank you for the past month. You have been there for me when I have had trouble coping and your parents opened your home to me. I am so grateful for it" Lily paused and looked down. James was about to say something but Lily cut him off.

Lily looked up, straight into James' eyes. "James, I'm in love with you."

James was surprised, but extremely glad. Lily stared at him wondering if he went into shock but then a huge smile crossed his face.

"Lily, I'm in love with you too."

Lily smiled and the next thing she knew, she and James were kissing. At first, the kiss was soft and gentle. Both were just testing the waters, making sure they both wanted this. Then, the kiss got deeper and more passionate. James pulled Lily closer, keeping both hands around her waist. Lily wrapped one arm around his neck and the other hand in his hair. The kiss was different than any other kiss either of them had ever had. It was fierce yet soft and they were both in love with the other so it made this one fantastic "first" kiss. (They have both been kissed before this.)

The kiss lasted at least five minutes before Lily, unwillingly, pulled away.

"Sorry James… but I… couldn't… breathe anymore" Lily laughed breathlessly.

"That's alright… I was… just… about to… anyway" James laughed breathlessly as well.

Once they both caught their breath, Lily sat in between James' legs and leaned back onto his chest. He pulled the blanket around them both and then wrapped his around her. They sat there for the longest time just being in each other's arms. James and Lily were so close that he could smell the aroma from Lily's hair and skin. Her hair smelled of vanilla and lavender and her skin gave off the faint scent of lilies. The scents complimented each other in a way that made it all her own.

After awhile, James noticed that Lily had fallen asleep and decided that they should go inside so they don't catch a cold. He checked to make sure her window was shut before he shifted so he could carry her. James was just a little selfish tonight, he didn't want to let go of Lily. He carefully maneuvered through his window so he wouldn't drop her or accidentally hit her head on the window frame.

Once he made it through safely, he shut the window to keep the cold air out. He saw his watch and noticed that it was near four-thirty. James gently laid Lily on his bed and then crawled in next to her so they were facing each other. He wrapped an arm around her and then she moved so her head was nestled on his chest. He rested his cheek on the top of her head and then fell asleep.

* * *

When Lily woke up, she was slightly confused but when she saw James, everything came flooding back to her. She smiled and then snuggled closer to James, who was still sleeping. As Lily lay there, her senses were overcome by the aroma coming from James. His hair smelled faintly of vanilla and honey and then his skin had this inviting aroma of cinnamon and spices. Lily sighed contentedly, waking James up.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you" Lily whispered as she moved to look at him. He still had his glasses on and his hair was, somehow, messier than ever before.

James just smiled and leaned down to kiss Lily. This kiss didn't last as long as the one last night but it was definitely as good as. They smiled at each other and just laid there with each other for the longest time, talking softly every once in awhile. Lily looked at James' watch, it was eight.

"James?"

"Hmm."

"I think we should start to get ready."

"Why? We don't leave for another three hours."

"Yes, I know, but there are three of us who need to get ready and I'm guessing you're not done packing yet" Lily laughed.

"You know me too well. Alright, I guess I will let you go become even more beautiful than you already are." They both stood up and Lily walked to the window.

Lily giggled and shook her head. "You are so biased but I love you anyway."

James was laughing now, "What? How am I biased?"

"Because, you love me, so of course you're going to say I'm beautiful."

"Trust me, I am not as biased as you think I am. You should know that a lot of boys find you very attractive" James paused and walked over to Lily and pulled her into a hug "but I am the lucky one." James gave Lily one last kiss and helped her out the window.

Lily decided that she would go out the window instead of through the door in case someone happened to walk by in the hallway. As Lily got ready, she was basically floating on air. She was so happy that she finally told James that she loved him and that he felt the same way about her.

Then she thought of that kiss last night. It was the best kiss she had ever had. Just thinking of it made her heart beat faster and made her stomach do flips but the good kind of flips that made her sure of her decision. She hoped that James was feeling the same way.

Just as she opened her door, she saw James getting ready to knock. She jumped a little but smiled at him. She closed her door and took his hand as they walked down the stairs for breakfast.

As they entered the kitchen, Sirius was already at the table stuffing his face with anything and everything. He acknowledged them with a grunt and didn't even look up at them. Mrs. Potter turned around when they laughed at Sirius and as soon as she saw them, she zeroed in on their intertwined hands. A smug smile crossed her face.

"Ha, Sirius pay up" she laughed.

"Huh?" Sirius managed.

"You owe me. I won the bet."

"Mum, _you _bet with _him_?" James asked in disbelief.

"Ahh, so that is where your gambling comes from" Lily laughed as she took a seat.

"Yes, what's wrong with that?" Jillian asked.

"Nothing, really, but what did you bet on?" James answered with a shake of his head.

"Well, Sirius, your father and I bet on when you two would finally become a couple. Sirius bet during Christmas break, your father said October, and I said before school starts. And seeing how school doesn't "technically" start for another two and a half hours, I win."

"Well, glad to be of service" Lily laughed.

"Okay, eat up, I want to leave earlier than normal just so we make it with plenty of time considering this one" pointing at Sirius "seems to take forever."

"What? Mrs. Potter, I'm insulted. This look is something that takes time. I thought you of all people would understand that" he said sarcastically.

Just as Mrs. Potter wished, they left earlier than normal. They arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters with fifteen minutes to spare. The platform was crowded with students and their families.

"Oh, good-bye dears, I will see you all at Christmas. Lily, you are coming back for Christmas, aren't you?" Mrs. Potter asked as she hugged all three of them.

"Of course I am, I wouldn't want to go anywhere else" Lily said as Mrs. Potter released her.

"Good, well good-bye again. Oh, and James," she leaned to whisper in his ear "take care of her."

"I will Mum. Good-bye."

James, Sirius, and Lily made their way through the train and managed to find one of the larger compartments. Soon after, Mary, Alice, Emily, Frank, Remus, and Peter found them and settled in as well. They were all telling stories of their summers when the train left the platform. Lily was congratulated several times for being chosen for head girl. Lily was a little disappointed that Remus hadn't gotten head boy but she knew some of the other prefects would do a good job as well.

"Lily, when does the prefect meeting start?" Remus asked. She looked at her watch before speaking.

"In about fifteen minutes. I guess you and I should patrol the hallways before the meeting."

Lily and Remus bid their friends good-bye and patrolled the hallways. They only broke up two fights but it was still early. Luckily, none of the fighters were Gryffindors so their house wouldn't be negative points before school even started. When they reached the prefect compartment, there was only one other prefect in there, a sixth year. There was still five minutes left before Lily would start the meeting. Gradually, prefects from all years showed up including, despite what Lily wanted, Snape.

By the time the meeting started, no one had declared that they were head boy. Lily shrugged it off thinking he had a good reason to be late and started without him.

"Welcome, new and old prefects. I'm your Head Girl, Lily Evans. I know most of you and those of you I don't know, I will soon enough. Now, I'm going to make this meeting last as short as possible, so please leave your questions until the end. Thanks." Lily paused and just then the door opened and closed.

"Sorry, I'm late. I was… breaking up a fight" a familiar voice said breathlessly.

"Potter! What are you doing in here? It's for prefects only" Snape shouted with intense loathing.

Lily turned around to see James standing behind her, glaring at Snape.

"For your information, Snivellus, I'm the Head Boy. So sit down and shut up."

Lily stared at James until he turned to look at her. "What?" he said.

"James Potter, you complete and utter arse" Lily laughed as she repeatedly hit him on the shoulder. "I have been living with you for the past month and you didn't think to tell me before now!"

"Lily, I'm sorry, but I thought it might upset you. Please stop hitting me" he laughed.

Someone behind Lily cleared their throat which made Lily turn around. She saw that everyone was staring at her with the same confused look on their face, except for Snape who was throwing daggers at James. Lily turned bright red and looked down to avoid their gazes.

"Oh, er… everyone this is James Potter your Head Boy. So, let's continue so we can get out of here."

"So, you all should know the rules about after hours and the hallway rules as well. When on patrol, I expect you to behave and use your authority wisely. You may either take points off or give detentions or both for rule breakers but don't do it unless a student really did do something bad. Don't use your authority to take off points just because you don't like someone. If I find out you are, you will be sent straight to Professor Dumbledore, no questions asked."

"You are expected to patrol two nights a week. If you are unable to patrol, you must find a replacement. Do not come crying to me or James because you cannot patrol, we are not your parents and expect you to be responsible. If one of us finds out that you never show up for patrol, we will send you straight to Professor Dumbledore."

"Here are the passwords to your houses, you may change them if you wish" Lily handed the passwords to the Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin prefects "sorry Ravenclaw but you know you have to answer questions. Please memorize the password and then hand the slips of paper to James. Make sure no one but the people in your houses knows the password besides James and me. Also, I have the patrol schedule for the first two months. Pass those around please. And I have the patrol schedule for rest of the ride to school. I will let you look at that to see when you have to patrol. Oh, and fifth year prefects will lead everyone up to the common rooms after the feast tonight."

"Otherwise I'm finished. James do you have anything to add" he shook his head "okay, any questions then?" No one had any so she handed them the train patrol schedule to look at.

"James and I will take the first patrol. You can go. James, will you burn those slips of paper please?" James quickly burned them and cleared the smoke.

James, Lily and Remus kept back to talk a little while the rest left. It looked as though Snape might have stayed behind but he left and Lily was grateful. Remus headed back to the compartment and Lily and James set off to patrol.

"James, are you okay? It looks like you took a hit." Lily said gently touching his cheek.

"Oh, yeah. When I was breaking up that fight, one of them took a swing and hit me, but it's nothing."

"Do you want me to fix it for you?"

"Nah, I think it looks good. It'll show people not to mess with the Head Boy, especially since I took twenty points off each of them and gave them detention. Don't worry they were Slytherins." James joked.

Lily laughed "Alright, I guess it's not too bad. Just a little cut and a bruise. Don't let Madam Pomfrey see it though. Luckily, it wasn't your eyes."

"So, Lily, I don't think our relationship is private anymore" he laughed.

"I guess not. I forgot about them when I said it" she blushed "I am sorry about hitting you so much."

"It's alright. I did deserve it considering I didn't tell you, I should have but I really didn't want to take the chance of making you sad."

"I know, but you could have told me last night. You did congratulate me" she laughed playfully pushing him.

"Okay, okay I give. It's all my fault. But honestly, I thought it was a mistake when I got the letter. I'm not even a prefect but I guess Dumbledore thought I was more competent than the others" James shrugged and gave Lily one of his dazzlingly breath taking smile. She giggled and they went back to patrolling.

Once they finished the lunch trolley was just passing by the compartment with their friends in it. James quickly grabbed some food before sitting down next to Lily. For the rest of the trip, the girls talked about gossip that they already heard and other things the boys were not interested in. The boys talked of Quidditch and pretty much nothing else. Through the whole trip, James and Lily never let go of each other's hand, sometimes making an animated conversation a little difficult.

"Well, gents," James said "I say we leave these lovely ladies and go change into our robes."

The girls giggled as they left, pulled down the shades on the windows and started to change into their robes. But before Lily even got out of her seat, her friends descended on her.

"Lily, guess what other gossip we heard" Mary giggled.

"Oh, Mary, stop beating around the bush, Lily we heard that you exclaimed to the whole prefect compartment that you spent the past month living with James. Of course, we already knew this but why would you do that?" Emily laughed.

"I didn't do it on purpose. I was introducing myself as Head Girl and then James came rushing in apologizing for being late because he was breaking up a fight. Snape shouted at him for being here and then he said he was Head Boy. I was shocked and called him an arse and let slip that I had been living with him for the past month."

The girls laughed and Lily blushed. "Lily, you do know what this means?" Emily asked and Lily shook her head.

"By the time the feast starts, everyone in school will think something more, than just living in the same house, happened between you and James." They all laughed, knowing it was true but before any of them could speak again the boys walked in. Luckily, they were all finished dressing. Soon after, the train stopped and they all got off the train. They were all glad that it wasn't raining considering the carriages to the school had no tops.

As predicted, the whole school knew that something was going on between James and Lily. Although, no one could ask them about it because just then the sorting began and that was when no one liked to speak trying to make the first years even more nervous. The hat sung its song and then Professor McGonagall called students one by one up to the stool. Once the sorting was finished, Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak.

"I have just a few words before the feast begins. Welcome, to our new hats and welcome back to our old ones. I hope you enjoyed your summers. Just a few school rules to remind you of. The Forbidden Forest is off limits. Students are warned to stay away. Please be aware of the Whomping Willow, try not to get too close. I was asked by our caretaker Mr. Filch to remind you that magic in the corridors is strictly forbidden. I would also like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Goldman. Now let's tuck in."

And the feast began. First years were in awe of the all the food that just appeared on the table. The school ghosts entered the Great Hall soon after and as always, Sir Nicholas scared a first year but popping out of his plate. The feast was delicious and dessert was even better. Just as the leftovers disappeared, Professor Dumbledore stood up again.

"Now that we all are full and slightly drowsy, I will keep this as short as possible. Times are changing, so do not take your education for granted. Not everyone in this world is your friend but you should keep an eye on your friends and people you may disagree with. We are in this together and we will get through it together. We need to protect ourselves and others. We may see ourselves in dangerous times sooner than you think. Well, off to bed seeing how classes begin tomorrow. Good night."

As everyone got up to leave, they were all a little confused to what Dumbledore was talking about. Then again everyone thought he was slightly mad anyway. The older students fell back a little because they knew the way to the common rooms. James and Lily told their friends to go on ahead of them. They wanted a little time to themselves.

They were the last ones out of the Great Hall. Or so they thought.

"Lily!" an all too familiar voice called. She turned around to see Snape coming towards her. She groaned but stayed to see what he wanted. Lily whispered to James to let her handle this unless she asked for help. He begrudgingly agreed.

"What do you want?" Lily snapped.

"I just wanted to talk to you. But I would rather do it alone." he said glaring murderously at James.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of James."

"Lily, I'm sorry. I know I made a huge mistake and" Lily stopped him.

"I don't want your apology. You know full well what you did and you can't change that. We are no longer friends. I'm done. Good-bye" and with that Lily turned dragging James with her. She never looked back to see what Snape was doing, she didn't care.

"Lily, that was wonderful." James said and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you" and they walked in silence, holding hands until they reached the Fat Lady.

"Password." the Fat Lady asked with the same monotonous tone as always.

"Lacewing flies" James answered.

The portrait swung open to reveal the little passageway that led into the common room. Once James and Lily entered, everyone turned to look at them. And then they threw an endless stream of questions at them, all asking about this summer. Lily and James blushed and before they could answer, Sirius came to the rescue.

"Alright, alright, you lot. Leave them alone. I'm sure you will all find out eventually."

"Thanks mate" James said to him and then to the rest of them "Oy, shouldn't you lot be in bed."

They all grumbled something and went up to their dormitories. A few sixth and seventh years stayed behind but Lily and James didn't send them off. They collapsed on the couch in front of the fire and just cuddled up with each other. Their friends had stayed behind and they finished up some conversations from dinner.

No one stayed up too much later considering they had classes in the morning. Finally, James and Lily were the only ones left in the common room. Lily lay on the couch with her head in James' lap. He was tracing designs on her arm. They just looked into each other's eyes feeling the same thing. They were both in love and didn't want to look away. Eventually, James said they really should go to bed. Lily sat up and kissed James good night. She pulled him up with her and they parted ways once they reached their separate staircases. Both dreamed of the other not realizing it was the same dream.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So I know it has been forever since I have posted a chapter but I have been so busy with school that I have not had time. With the other chapters, I corrected grammatical errors that I noticed when I read through my story to refresh my memory. I hope you like this chapter. It is longer than I thought it would be but that is ok by me. I really do think that I will post more chapters this summer. Read and enjoy!

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* * *

Chapter 8: Last First Week**

Monday morning came too quickly. And little did the seventh years know, it was going to be a long day which began the longest week ever. Lily and her friends met James and his friends in the common room before heading down to breakfast. Everyone was still very groggy so not much talking was going on. As they sat down at the Gryffindor table, they noticed that they weren't the only ones who were half asleep in their food.

"I hate when the first of September falls on a Sunday. It makes the first week even worse" Sirius said and then yawned.

"Hear hear" everyone seemed to mumble at the same time.

Each person very clumsily put food on their plates and Peter even fell asleep on his plate. Someone probably would have moved his head off of his food, but no one noticed seeing as they were trying to keep themselves out of their own food. Breakfast went by slowly and the only thing that seemed to wake people up some was when teachers began handing out schedules. Professor McGonagall approached the seventh years and handed them their schedules.

"Mr. Black, Miss Evans, Mr. Lupin, Miss Macdonald, Miss O'Shea, Mr. Pettigrew, Mr. Potter, and Miss Smart, here are your schedules. I expect that you all are still interested in the career choice you chose last year?" they all nodded and she continued. "Very well then, see you all in class this morning" and she continued down to the next set of students but stopped before she reached them.

"Oh, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter I almost forgot. I would like to see you in my office after dinner tonight."

"Yes, Professor" James and Lily responded.

Everyone in their group looked at their schedules and groaned almost simultaneously.

"Why do they insist on torturing us? Double Charms" Emily groaned.

"And what makes it worse is that today is Monday" James added.

"Eww, look at Thursday" Lily said "we have every class that day."

_Schedule of Classes for Seventh Years Interested in Becoming Aurors or Healers_

_**Monday**_

_8 am – Double Charms_

_10 am – break_

_11 am – Transfiguration_

_12 30 pm – lunch/break_

_2 pm – Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_3 30 pm – Herbology_

_5 pm – Classes over for the Day_

_**Tuesday**_

_8 am – Double Potions_

_11 am – Care of Magical Creatures_

_12 30 pm – lunch/break_

_2 pm – Double Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_4 pm – Charms_

_5 pm – Classes over for the Day_

_**Wednesday**_

_8 am – Double Transfiguration_

_11 am – break_

_12 30 pm – lunch/break_

_2 pm – Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_3 30 pm – Herbology_

_5 pm – break with dinner_

_9 pm – Astronomy_

_**Thursday**_

_8 am – Charms_

_9 30 am – Transfiguration_

_11 am – Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_12 30 pm – lunch/break_

_2 pm – Potions_

_3 30 – Care of Magical Creatures_

_5 pm – Herbology_

_6 30 pm – dinner_

_9 pm – Astronomy_

_**Friday**_

_8 am – Transfiguration_

_9 30 am – Double Herbology_

_12 30 pm – lunch/break_

_2 pm – Charms_

_3 30 pm – Potions_

_5 pm – Enjoy your weekend _

They compared schedules and found that they were in the same classes. Apparently, they were all going to be Aurors or Healers when they graduated. Seeing how classes started in fifteen minutes, the Great Hall began emptying. The group got up and made their way to Flitwick's class.

During Charms, Professor Flitwick lectured them on the importance of N.E.. Of course this was a double period so the lecture only lasted half of the period and the rest was filled with everyone getting piled on with homework. Most of them listened to his lecture but others didn't because they knew it would be a very similar speech to the speech they got as fifth years. When the bell rang, they had a free period and then after headed to Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall gave the seventh years the same lecture as Flitwick and then began class and gave them a huge essay for the next time they met which was Wednesday morning. After class they headed to the great hall for lunch where everyone seemed to be livelier.

As usual, Emily and Sirius were back to their normal bantering which made for an interesting meal.

"Hey!" Emily shouted as Sirius stole a chicken leg off her plate.

"Hey" he said back as seductively as he could.

"No, I mean 'hey get your own damn leg!'" she said and ripped the chicken leg out of his mouth.

"Oy! I was eating that!"

"Yes, but now I am." and she stuck out her tongue which held her chewed food.

"Ew, Em, I'm trying to eat _and _keep it down at the same time." Lily said disgustedly.

Emily just laughed and continued to eat. She and Sirius continued throughout the meal to push each other and steal food from one another's plate. The rest just ignored those two and talked about the newest rumor circling the school.

"What?" Lily laughed.

"I know that's what I said when I heard it but a lot of people think it's true" Alice told them.

"Wait, wait, wait" James said "People think that Lily and I, are married, living together in our own house, and she is pregnant?"

"Yeah, that's what I heard. Oh, don't forget that Lily is due next month." Alice laughed.

"Well, then, that is the most absurd rumor I have ever heard" Lily laughed trying to understand how she could look eight months pregnant. "Do I look eight months pregnant to you?" Lily asked leaning back to look at her stomach.

"No, of course not" James said quickly.

"Lily, no, not at all. You are the skinniest person I have ever met. Plus, I have seen my mother eight months pregnant a couple of times and she is usually huge by then." Alice laughed turning back to her food.

"Good, then all I have to say is people are daft and will believe anything. Do you realize that if I was eight months pregnant, that we would have had to have shagged sometime around the end of January?" Lily asked James with a little twinkle in her eye.

James didn't answer. He seemed to be daydreaming. Unknown to Lily, he was thinking about what it would be like to really be with her. The way she looked in that bikini during the summer…

"James?" Lily asked breaking him out of his daydream.

"Oh, sorry. Er… I think we should get to class?"

Lily looked around to see that most of the Great Hall had emptied out and they all quickly grabbed their stuff and hurried off to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

They made it just in time but were unhappy to see that the only other people they had class with were the Slytherins. Just like in Charms, Professor Goldman lectured them on the N.E. and this time everyone just looked like they were taking notes because they had heard it all before. But just like Charms they got a ton of homework. After Defense, they went down to the green houses for Herbology.

By the time dinner rolled around, everyone was exhausted. The seventh years had been given an insane amount of homework and almost all of it was due the next class. Lily and James joined their friends a little while after dinner had started. They earned a lot of quizzical looks as they entered. Most were probably trying to see if the rumor was true which it wasn't.

"Where were you two?" Sirius asked raising his eyes suggestively.

"Sod off" James said while throwing a biscuit at his head.

"Well, aren't we a bit touchy this evening" Sirius said sarcastically.

"Sirius, if I were you, I wouldn't push James any further" Lily warned giving James a squeeze on his hand.

"Why? What's got his knickers in a twist?" Sirius asked earning a glare from Lily. Neither of them answered but Lily gave him an "I'll tell you later look" and he dropped the subject deciding to bug Emily.

"Em, why won't you go out with me?" Sirius asked giving her a puppy dog face.

"Really, Black? Shall I point out the reasons?"

"Yes, I honestly want to know."

"Okay, first you're obnoxious. Second, you're always stealing my food. Third, you have just a little something there" Emily said pointing her finger at the corner of his mouth "which leads to my fourth point, you're disgusting."

"Okay, okay I get it. You don't need to rub it in" Sirius said turning back to his food.

"I think I'm going to go to bed" James said as he got up.

"Wait, James we have to go meet with McGonagall" Lily reminded him.

"Oh, that's right. Can we go now?"

"Sure, let's go."

James and Lily made their way to McGonagall's office. Neither spoke but each silently wondered why she wanted to talk to them. Lily knocked on her door and heard a soft 'enter' from behind the door.

James held the door for Lily and followed her in. They waited for McGonagall to look up.

"James, Lily, how was your first day back?"

"Busy and very homework filled" Lily responded with a smile and James nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure you are wondering why I ask you here. Well, there is a special Heads' Room in the castle. Each year the two heads are permitted to stay in the room if they wish and if there is no major disagreement between the two. Normally, the two heads move in the first day of term but seeing as you two are now dating" she paused with a knowing smirk on her face "the teachers and Professor Dumbledore were concerned about you two staying in the room together."

"We decided that you shall be permitted to stay there, if you wish. We trust you two otherwise we would not have made you heads. We just were skeptical about letting two seventeen-year-olds, who are dating, live together. The password is pepper imps. You may change the password as often as you like."

"That is all I have for you. You have until the end of the week to decide whether or not you will stay there. Let me know as soon as you decide. That is all. Have a good evening."

"Er, Professor?" Lily asked.

"Yes?"

"Where is the Head's Room located?"

"Oh, right. There are actually five Head's Rooms in the castle. Four are for if both heads are from the same house, as is your case and one if they are not from the same house. The ones who are in the same house, the rooms are located very close to the actual houses room. The one who are not from the same house is located near Professor Dumbledore's office. But in this case your room is just to the left of the house. It is behind the portrait of Godric and Lady Gryffindor."

"Thank you Professor" the two responded and returned to the Gryffindor common room

Once they reached the common room, James proclaimed he was tired, whispered to Lily that they can check out the Head's Room tomorrow, kissed her, and bid her and their friends good night. As soon as Sirius knew he was out of earshot, he descended on Lily and asked her what was wrong with James.

"Okay, well you know how there have been disappearances all summer long?" they all nodded urging her on.

"In the Daily Prophet this morning, they reported a disappearance of a Ministry employee and his wife. Well, they didn't say who it was. But before dinner, James received a letter from his parents saying that the Dark Mark was over their friends the Wilkinson's house. They are really good friends with them and James was really close to them since he doesn't have any aunts or uncles."

"Oh my, now I feel bad for dinner" Sirius said solemnly.

"Is he okay?" Emily asked.

"I think he will be but it's going to take awhile. He wouldn't speak to me after he read the letter so I had to read it myself and I just barely got that information out of him."

"Well, let us know if we can do anything." Alice offered.

"I will thanks" and then Lily thought of something. "Sirius, Remus and Peter do you think you could do something to pull him out of this? I don't want him to wallow in his sorrow."

"Like what, Lily?" Remus asked.

"I don't know, but aren't you Marauders?" Lily said giving them a smirk.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Sirius asked with a huge grin on his face.

"Depends, what do you think I'm saying?" Lily laughed.

"Okay, but if we do this, will we get in trouble?"

"I'll make you a deal. If you do this and pull James out of his sorrow, I won't do anything to stop you and I won't punish you. But I can't say that for the rest of the teachers."

"Okay, deal." Sirius said shaking hands with Lily.

"Oh, Lily what did McGonagall want?" Mary asked.

"Apparently, there are Head's Rooms. Each set of heads gets the opportunity to stay in the various Head's Room throughout the castle." She told them the rest of what McGonagall said to them. They all got a bit excited because if there was a smaller common room in there they could all hang there without all the other Gryffindors bugging them.

After that, the friends finished as much homework as they could stand and then went to bed. It was going to be a long week. Sirius and his friends did manage to pull James out of his sorrow which made Lily very happy. James and Lily didn't get to spend too much time with each other because they were either in class, doing homework, or doing their head work. Yes, they are heads together but they are focusing on their duties rather than each other.

Every day they got more homework in their classes. In Potions they had to brew Amortentia and they got a two foot essay on its properties and why it can be dangerous. They had to turn in a vial to Professor Slughorn and then he vanished the rest. They also had to brew Elixir to Induce Euphoria that same week plus write essays everyday on something different and if they didn't have class one of the days they got two essays.

In Charms, they had to write essays on a different spell that they learned in class and then work on it for the next class. The same went for Transfigurations but including essays and practical work they had questions to answer. Herbology was the only class they couldn't take things out (besides Potions) but they had essays in there too.

The only class they didn't seem to mind was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Yes they got essays and yes they had practical work to do but the teacher was the best they had ever had. Professor Goldman was funny and very interactive and he seemed to bring the best out of everyone. He really knew the subject and really knew how to teach. They even thought that maybe he would last more than a year but they would never know because it was their last year.

Finally, it was Friday. They started their day with Transfiguration then they went to double Herbology. Lunch was next, followed by Charms and then Potions. It was a long day to say the least. They had a lot of homework to do over the weekend. But the day got better once dinner came around. The whole Great Hall seemed to have this excited mood about it. It was the first weekend of school and everyone had plans. But there was something else in the air as well but only few knew what was coming.

"So boys," Emily began "the first week of school is almost over and no one has seen a welcome back prank. What's the deal?"

"Oh, my dear Emily. Just wait and see. And I would advise against using your wand through the rest of dinner" Sirius laughed giving Emily a sly smile.

"Oh, really. And why should I refrain from using my wand? Because personally I would love to give you the proper attire to match your lovely girl hair."

"I-what? You think I have girl hair?" Sirius asked confused.

"Why yes I do. I mean look at it. It's long and silky and… and" Emily stopped and got this weird look on her face. She turned away from Sirius and stared with a little too much enthusiasm at her food.

Everyone just looked at each other with the same confused expression but shrugged it off. Emily had started to do those kinds of things lately and she wouldn't tell anyone why. Since no one knew why they all started their own conversations.

Dinner was almost over seeing how dessert had just showed up. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Frank (they recruited him for extra help) all muttered the same thing under their breaths but no one heard them. And soon after the first of the students started to get up but they couldn't. They seemed to be stuck to their seats. Then everyone started to notice they couldn't get up even the teachers. Like planned, people pulled out their wands and muttered a counter curse but as soon as they did, pudding filled balloons popped over their heads drenching them in various flavors of pudding.

Almost half the people in the Great Hall, including a few teachers, were covered in pudding. But all around people were laughing even if they were the ones covered in pudding. Just like the boys advised, the girls didn't use their wands. Eventually, people realized that trying to use their wand was a bad idea. Dumbledore spoke up and the Great Hall silenced almost immediately.

"It seems that we have been pranked this evening. So I would advise the rest of you not covered in pudding, to not try anything." He paused and chuckled then continued. "I will not punish those responsible if they lift the charm… now."

James muttered something and at the same time half the Great Hall stood up. As people tried to vanish the pudding on their heads they realized that is only made it worse. They would have to take a shower after all. Sirius and Emily were laughing so hard they were almost on the ground. The rest were laughing hard but not that hard. Their faces and sides ached by the time they managed to calm down enough to walk back to the common room.

"Boys, I can't believe you did that." Lily smiled disapprovingly.

"Hey, now, Lily you promised you wouldn't punish us" Sirius said.

"I know and I won't but still, you could have warned us a little more than don't use your wands. When I tried to stand up, I almost fell backward off the bench."

"Oh, I'm sorry Lily, I guess I should have warned you not to. But wait, how did you almost fall off? Your bottom was stuck to the bench." James laughed.

"Yes, but that was the one of the reasons I didn't fall off. That and the fact that there were many others sitting on it. If I had been the only one on the bench, I would have fallen backwards."

"Well, good. I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself" James said kissing Lily on the cheek.

"Ew… I would like to keep my dinner down, thank you very much" Emily said.

"Oh, it was just a kiss on the cheek. Would you rather James and I full on snog right here and now?" Lily laughed.

"No, no. I'm good" Emily spat back quickly. They all laughed and placed themselves in front of the fire talking lively about the teachers and how they are bonkers.

* * *

Saturday morning came and the whole castle felt relieved. No classes, no homework (because it could be put off until Sunday), and the whole day to spend doing whatever you want.

James woke up early and decided that there was no use going to sleep again. He got up as quietly as he could because if he woke his roommates they would kill him. Once he was dressed, he headed for the door but jumped a little when he opened it. Lily was standing there looking as if she was about to knock on the door. She smiled at him and pulled him with her as she headed down the stairs.

"I was just about to knock but then I heard footsteps so I stopped" she whispered.

"Well, I'm glad you are up. I wanted to have breakfast with you, just the two of us."

She smiled and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "You are too sweet, James. Let's go to breakfast."

"So why are you up this early?" James asked as they walked down the corridor.

"Oh, Emily was snoring really loudly, Alice was muttering in her sleep, Mary kept trying to hit me with her pillow, and Shelia, well, she wasn't doing anything but the rest are the reason I'm up." Lily laughed. "Why are you up?"

"Well, Sirius was snoring, pretty much shaking the whole dormitory and that's about the only reason" James laughed.

"I see we have very similar roommates. Maybe we should move into the Head's Room. Give us some more privacy and maybe we could actually sleep."

"Oh, I'm sorry we didn't go check it out earlier this week. It was kind of a busy week."

"It's alright. How about we check it out after breakfast?" Lily asked and James nodded in agreement.

"You know I really think that Emily fancies Sirius but is too stubborn and proud to do anything about it."

"Lily, I think you're right. I know Sirius fancies Emily but he is too stubborn and proud to do anything about it just like Emily. Do you see how Emily will be bashing him and then stop and get this weird look on her face?"

"Yes, I have noticed that a lot lately. I think she sees it herself but doesn't want it to be true."

"I agree; should we do anything about it?"

"No, if we try we will get nowhere and Emily would never forgive me."

Just then they entered the Great Hall and saw that only a few other students were up this early and sat down. Gradually, the Great Hall filled up with more students and Lily noticed that almost all the girls who came in were glaring at her.

"Lily? What are you looking at?" James asked trying to get her attention.

"Oh, er… I think a lot of girls are either jealous of me or mad at me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, while we have been sitting here and people have come in for breakfast, almost all the girls seem to be glaring at me."

"Just ignore them Lily. It will go away soon enough once they realize that I have no intentions of letting you go." He leaned over and kissed Lily on the lips.

She smiled and blushed and asked "What do you want to do today?"

"Oh, I don't know. This and that. I say we try to avoid our friends for a little while and have a little date. What do you say?" James asked getting up from the table.

"Sounds perfect, but don't forget that we have patrol tonight. Which I might add, will be eventful." Lily added with a laugh.

"Why do you say that?"

"Think about it. Astronomy Tower, first Saturday back at school, boyfriends and girlfriends, nighttime. They all add up to snogging couples."

"Oh, you think it will be that bad?"

"Yes, yes I do. I had to do this day last year, let's just say it was awful." Lily said with a shudder.

"Then why did you assign us this spot?" James asked confused.

"Because they are more likely to listen to the Head Boy and Girl than prefects. Plus I wouldn't want to damage anyone too much on their first patrol. That's just too cruel."

After breakfast, they headed up to the seventh floor corridor in search of the portrait of Godric and Lady Gryffindor. Lily spotted it first and dragged James over. Godric and Lady smiled down at the two and James said the password. The portrait opened outward and they stepped through. Once inside, they portrait closed and they noticed that they had a common room that was very familiar to the Gryffindor common room.

Comfy chairs and a sofa, a desk for each, bookshelves, a table and a fireplace without the fire surrounded the room. They immediately noticed three doors. One door said 'Head Boy' and another said 'Head Girl' and the door in between was the bathroom. Each went into their separate rooms. They each had a full sized bed fitted with curtains and the posts, a dresser and closet. There was another door which led to the bathroom so that they wouldn't have to go out to get to it. The entirety of the Head's Room was decorated in red and gold for Gryffindor.

The bathroom was quite large for two people as were the bedrooms. As soon as James and Lily met in the common room they had the same look. They decided that they wouldn't move in because they would miss spending time with their friends too much. They quickly sent a note to McGonagall and she wrote back quickly saying that is was fine and that they would still have access to the room if they needed it for something.

Lily and James spent the rest of the morning walking around the castle grounds. Every so often they would snog a little but not too much at the risk of getting caught. After lunch they made their way to the common room thinking about catching up with their friends. When they walked in, they noticed that no one seemed to be around. So they sat in front of the fire and played a game of Exploding Snap.

"YES! I WON!" Lily shouted gleefully.

"Alright, you don't have to rub it in."

"Oh, I think I do. This is the first game I have ever won against you" Lily laughed.

"Okay, keep rubbing it in, I dare you." James grinned evilly at her. She stopped and looked questioningly at him.

"I won and you lost" Lily said testing the waters.

Then in one swift movement, James stood up and threw Lily over his shoulder and started running about the common room.

"Say it again, I dare you" he laughed trying to keep a grip on the squirming Lily.

Lily was laughing so hard she was crying a little. "James… put… me down" Lily gasped between laughs.

"No" he said simply.

"Fine, then I won't regret what I do next" Lily threatened.

"What-" was all he managed before Lily started tickling him. Lily was tickling him so viciously that he fell down dragging Lily on top of him. They lay like that laughing for the longest time. Then someone cleared their throats and they stopped and looked over to see Remus, Sirius and Emily standing with their eyebrows raised and a smirk on their faces.

"Er… this isn't what it looks like."

"Sure it isn't, but don't let us interrupt your fun." Sirius smirked and walked over to the couch.

Lily and James just looked at each other and started laughing again.

"James, this is all your fault" Lily said getting up off of him but James wouldn't let her move.

"How so, my dear?"

"This all happened because I beat you at Exploding Snap."

"Whoa, James lost a game of Exploding Snap! Unbelievable" Sirius exclaimed "I have been trying for over six years and haven't succeeded."

"Well, I guess I know his weakness" Lily laughed.

"And what may I ask is my weakness?" James asked.

Instead of responding, Lily just gave him one long kiss.

"Oh, yes that is my weakness."

"Now, will you please let me up" Lily demanded. James unwillingly helped her up and they walked over to their friends.

"So where are Alice, Frank, Mary and Peter?" James wondered.

"Well, Alice and Frank are presumably snogging, Mary decided to work in the library and I don't know where Peter is. Probably getting more food from the kitchen" Remus told them.

The rest of the afternoon, the friends spent playing games and talking. Every once in awhile, a group of girls would come in and glare viciously at Lily and she ignored it though. Once dinner came, Alice and Frank were finished doing whatever it was they were doing and Mary showed up looking extremely exhausted. But Peter was still nowhere in sight. They all shrugged it off and began eating.

"Sirius!" Emily shouted suddenly.

"What? I swear I didn't do it" he defended himself.

"Nothing, I just thought if I shouted your name you might confess to something. Sadly I was let down."

"Oh, well nice try. But I think I would rather hear you shout my name if it were in a different context. If you know what I mean" he said wagging his eyebrows.

"Unfortunately, I do get what you mean, so no, I will not shag you."

"Aww, come on Em, you'll never know what you're missing if you don't try" Sirius said as he stood up.

"I think I do know what I'm missing considering I'm looking right at it" she said standing up as well.

"Ouch, that hurts me really bad Em."

"I'll show you what hurts" she mumbled and kneed him in the groin. He fell over in pain and Emily walked away. Everyone who saw the scene just stared in awe and turned back to their conversations. Sirius and Emily's friends just stared as Sirius slowly got to his feet and gently sat back down.

"Are you okay?" James asked.

"No, I bloody am not. I just got a knee into my groin" he groaned, his voice a little bit higher than normal.

"Sorry, mate but you should have known that you shouldn't talk to her that way. Emily has resisted you since the beginning" James said.

"I know, but I never thought she would knee me in the groin."

"Emily has a temper and it might not be shown very prominently but it is there and you just saw it" Lily added.

They all left dinner after that, Remus helping Sirius along because he still couldn't walk very well. It was only about seven and James and Lily had three hours until patrol started so they decided to work on some homework so there was less to do the next day. The others decided to start some as well. James and Lily had shown their friends the Head's Room earlier that day and they were all studying in there because it was quieter. Sooner than they wished it was patrol time. James and Lily bid their friends good night and made their way to the Astronomy Tower.

"So, what happens on patrol?" James asked.

"Er… well, not much. It's rather long, boring and exhausting, to tell you the truth" Lily laughed.

"Oh, joy" and just as he said it they caught a snogging couple right at the top of the stairs.

"Oy, how daft can you get? Right at the top of the stairs. Ten points each now go" Lily said.

"Wow, Lily, don't you think that was a bit harsh. I mean they were only fifth years."

"Sorry, James but you have to be tough otherwise we'll catch them again in fifteen minutes. Taking ten points off was actually a fairly light punishment."

"Okay, I understand. But that was a light punishment?"

"Yes, trust me as the night goes on we will find more couples in even more revealing situations."

James just laughed and they kept patrolling.

By the time they were done, about one in the morning, they had caught ten more couples and only one, to their delight, were Gryffindors. The teachers took over then and James and Lily headed back to their common room.

"Amazing, I thought you were joking about how many couples we would find" James laughed.

"I wasn't. See girlfriends and boyfriends meet back up after a long summer and they have to make up the time lost so the first Saturday of the year is when they do so."

"Well, seeing as we have only been together about a week but we act like it has been a lot longer, what do you say to making up for lost time?" James asked wagging his eyebrows.

"Sounds good to me, but wait until we are out of the corridors so we don't get caught, plus we have a common room all to ourselves" Lily giggled.

Once the portrait hole closed, James swiftly pushed Lily against the wall and pressed his body against her. Their faces were an inch away and then Lily closed the distance kissing James. It was a very slow and deliberate, but very passionate. James lifted Lily up and she wrapped her arms and legs around him. He moved his lips down her throat, glad that they could patrol in normal clothes. She moaned softly and he moved his lips back up to hers. Their lips moved perfectly together, fitting together likes puzzle pieces. James held Lily against the wall for several more minutes until Lily moved in a way that James let her down, never breaking their kiss. Finally, after about ten minutes Lily broke away breathing heavily and smiling one of the biggest smiles she ever gave.

They were still pressed against each other, backed up against the wall. James had his head on the wall over Lily's shoulder breathing heavily and she had her head on his shoulder. They stayed that way until their breathing returned to normal. Lily pulled her head from his shoulder and James did the same. They looked at each other and just smiled and laughed softly.

"Why don't we go lay on the couch?" James whispered in her ear. She nodded, took his hand and started pulling him with her into the room but stopped suddenly when she heard some giggling that didn't come from her.

James and Lily looked at each other and crept quietly toward the larger part of their common room. When they glanced around the corner they almost gasped aloud. Lying on the couch were Sirius and Emily, snogging the life out of each other. James pulled Lily back around the corner so they wouldn't be seen. They silently laughed and looked at each other amazed. They couldn't believe their eyes. Emily and Sirius horizontal on the couch, snogging.

"What do we do now?" Lily whispered in his ear, laughing silently. James shook his head and silently laughed with her. He leaned in closer to her to whisper in her ear.

"We could interrupt them, sneak around them, or do a little more of this" and he began nibbling on her ear and then proceeded to kiss her neck and moved his way to her lips. They began kissing again but for not as long this time. Lily pulled back and whispered in his ear.

"As much as I would love to do this more, I don't think I will be able to keep as quiet much longer. I think we should try and sneak around them."

"I agree, but what about when we see them tomorrow. I don't think I could keep a straight face."

"I think we might have to try and act normal when everyone else is around but if we could talk to them alone we might be able to get things straightened out."

James nodded and slowly glanced around the corner. They were still on the couch and luckily their faces were covered so neither one could see. James took a step forward but then Lily pulled him back. He gave her a questioning look and then she leaned up to his ear.

"What if we put muffliato on them?"

"No, that has been used on Sirius before. He would recognize the buzzing plus the room is quiet except for the fire crackling."

"Okay, it was just a thought. I think we should go one at a time and then when one gets to the stairs they beckon the other." James nodded and went first.

He tiptoed across the room keeping his gaze on the two snoggers just in case they looked up. He made it to the stairs to the dormitories and told Lily to come. She did the exact same as James and made it there. They quietly went up the stairs and stopped at the top before going their separate ways. They kissed good night and went to bed, waiting for the next day.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Encounters**

The next day was Sunday. The day they would devote to homework. James, who is normally the first one to wake up, was one of the last ones to wake up. As he got ready, he realized that Sirius was still sleeping and remembered faintly that he came in a long time after he fell asleep. James laughed to himself about the fact that Sirius and Emily were snogging last night. Then James remembered Lily and smiled. He quietly exited the room so he wouldn't wake Sirius and on his way down met Lily and Emily on the stairs. He smiled at Lily and tried to keep a composed face as he smiled at Emily but found it really difficult. Although, Emily was yawning widely so she didn't see the look James gave her. He and Lily exchanged a look and a small chuckle before Emily started to push them down the stairs.

"Come on, get moving. I'm hungry and I'm not going to wait for you two."

"Alright, Em, we're going. No need to get pushy."

"Too late" Emily laughed.

As they left the common room, they ran into Remus, Peter, Frank, Alice and Mary. They had just finished breakfast and were coming back to see if the others were awake.

"Well, I guess the only one we need to worry about getting down to breakfast on time is Sirius" Remus laughed.

"Moony, I suspect he might miss it. He looked pretty out of it and I kind of remember hearing him come in after Lily and I got back from patrols" James said and noted that Emily blushed slightly.

"Oh, well, in that case maybe when you come back you could bring him some food. I would rather not hear him complain the rest of the morning."

"Right you are Moony, I'll make sure to grab him something." And with that they parted ways and the three went to the Great Hall. There were only a few other people from each house who were sitting down to eat. Emily plopped down on the bench and didn't even bother to fill her plate with food.

"Em, what's wrong?" Lily asked as she scooped up some bacon.

"Hmm… let me think. You practically dragged me out of bed. I'm tired because you didn't want to eat by yourself" Emily said sarcastically and Lily laughed.

"I wouldn't have cared if I ate by myself. I only dragged you out because I want to talk to you. Also, I didn't want to hear you complain when you missed breakfast, you really should eat something."

"Fine, but what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Lily, you might want to wait until Sirius is sitting here." James said looking toward the door. He was watching Sirius slowly drag himself down the aisle to where they were sitting.

Sirius, half awake, sat down next to James and piled food onto his plate. Lily and Emily were across from the boys and just stared at Sirius who sleepily started to shovel food into his mouth. Sirius looked like he was going to pass out. James just looked at his friend and then noticed something on his neck. It was a purplish, brown color and in the shaped of lips. James almost choked on his pumpkin juice, laughing, when he realized where it came from. Lily, Emily and Sirius looked at him with concern.

"Sorry, it went down wrong" James told them. They all understood and went back to eating but he caught Lily's eyes before she looked away.

James mouthed to her "_Look at Sirius' neck._" She eyed him strangely but looked anyway and then snorted and covered her mouth once she saw it. Luckily, Emily and Sirius were too tired to notice their conversation. James and Lily laughed as silently as they could, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Lily looked over to Emily and noticed the same thing on her neck. She showed James and they silently laughed harder. Finally, they stopped and continued eating but not long after Emily remembered that Lily wanted to talk to her.

"Oh, sorry Lily, you said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes, but actually James and I would like to talk to you and Sirius."

"Me?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"Yes, we have to tell you about something we saw last night." James continued.

"What did you see?" Emily's curiosity started to get the better of her and her face lit up in joy.

James and Lily glanced at each other and decided to just jump right in.

"Just be glad that the others ate before us, otherwise this would be a lot worse." Lily said.

"Lily, what are you talking about?" Emily asked impatiently.

"Alright, James and I saw you two snogging last night." Lily said with a smirk.

Both Emily and Sirius turned bright red. James and Lily laughed a little waiting for one of them to speak. Sirius was the first one to break the silence.

"How did you see us? We didn't hear anyone come in last night and I know that muffliato wasn't cast because I wouldn't have recognized it."

"Er, Sirius, you two were laying horizontally on the couch, which is the first thing you see after you come out of the entrance way behind the Fat Lady. It was hard not to miss it" James smirked.

"Yes, alright, but when did you come in?" Sirius asked. Emily still looked like she couldn't speak.

"A little after one, when our patrol ended. Plus, I heard you come in last night after I went to bed." James answered.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Emily snapped.

"Em, we didn't want to interrupt and we didn't think you would want to be caught." Lily said softly.

"Oh, well, thanks. But please don't tell anyone else" she pleaded.

"Of course not. I wouldn't and James won't either" Lily assured her.

"I have one question though," James said "what changed? Emily you kneed him in the groin earlier and then you're snogging him. It doesn't make sense."

"I-well, er, I guess it was because I started to fancy him. Then last night, we were the last two in the common room and we started talking without all the anger and then we were snogging" Emily blushed and then looked at Sirius who was smiling.

"Okay, so you have to promise not to tell anyone until we are ready. I think for awhile we are going to keep it on the down low. We are still going to playfully banter like we always do but Emily promised to stop physically harming me" Sirius laughed.

"Don't worry Padfoot, we won't tell but you both might want to check your necks otherwise people will think something is going on between you two" James laughed as they realized what he was talking about. Both turned red and tried to cover up their necks for the rest of breakfast until they could get rid of it.

* * *

For the rest of September and all of October, Sirius and Emily kept up their playful banter being careful not to get caught by anyone. The seventh years were busier than they thought was possible. The teachers piled them with homework every class and they barely had any time for themselves. James and Lily barely saw each other outside of class unless they were patrolling. Lily had scheduled patrols around the full moon for Remus and James (she had known about Remus since first year and James and the others since sixth year). Those few days put even more stress on James and the others because they were lacking sleep. The seventh years had also missed the first Hogsmeade weekend because of all the homework they had. Although, none of them really seemed to mind, they had been there plenty of times before.

James, being Quidditch captain again, had also started tryouts for new team members. They were held the third weekend of October. That put more stress on him. He had everyone try out even if they were on the team last year. Lily, Remus, Emily and some random other Gryffindors were the only ones who could come down and watch the try outs. Sirius and Peter were in detention for putting dung bombs in Filch's office and proceeded to get caught by McGonagall. Mary was tutoring a second year in the Great Hall and Alice and Frank were on a date since they didn't have much time together since school started.

James was talking to sixth year Ben Gordon, a chaser from the previous year, while everyone was getting brooms and getting ready for the try outs. Ben went over to join everyone, while James was going over the list of names he had in his hand.

"Alright, everyone. Welcome to Quidditch try outs. If you were on the team last year, you are not guaranteed a spot. I want the absolute best for this team and I know Professor McGonagall does too. I won't turn anyone away unless you are not from Gryffindor or you are really, really horrid." At this everyone gave a nervous chuckle and fidgeted hoping that they weren't they horrid ones.

"First, I want everyone to mount their brooms. We are going to have a race around the pitch to eliminate the ones who I feel aren't proficient enough to fly during an actual Quidditch game. I'm not saying that you aren't good flyers but there is a certain style to flying in a Quidditch game. Alright, mount your brooms. Three laps around the pitch and land back here when you have finished. I guess it's not really a race but more I want to see how well you fly but complete it as fast as you can. Ready, get set, GO!"

By the time they all landed, James already knew who he was going to eliminate. It wasn't that they were bad but they weren't aggressive enough. He called off the names of the people who could not continue the try outs and they went to sit in the stands. They were mostly first years and some from the other years too. There were roughly twenty people left. Not including James, there were three members from the previous year seeing as three had completed their years at Hogwarts.

"Okay, now split into groups, chasers over there, seekers over there, keepers over there, and beaters over there. We'll do chasers and keepers first; seekers and beaters wait over there please. I will send a keeper up to each set of goal posts and they will have to block the shots of the chasers. I will help test the keepers if the chasers do not do as well as expected."

James sent two of the four keepers up there and four of the nine chasers. He had them each shoot four times against each keeper and then had them play a three minute game. He did that with the other two keepers and the remaining five chasers. He joined in to make each side evenly numbered.

Of the three beaters trying out he released a bludger and had them practice hitting it through the goal posts to see how well they could aim. With the four seekers, he had them race each other and then released a practice snitch to see who could catch it.

Once everyone was done trying out, he told them that he would post the team later that evening. He really felt that this team would be top notch and impress McGonagall who was a Quidditch fanatic, whether she would admit it or not. The team had the four returning players from last year, Ben, Maria, Jonathon, and himself, and three new players, George, Susan, and Alyssa. He posted the list after dinner.

**_NEW GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM_**

**_Practice: First practice: Tuesday at 5:30 pm, meet in locker room._**

**_Chasers: Seventh year James Potter, captain_**

**_ Sixth year Ben Gordon_**

**_ Fifth year Alyssa Hewitt_**

**_Beaters: Fifth year Jonathan Bleat_**

**_ Fourth year George Harper_**

**_Keeper: Fourth year Susan Jacobs_**

**_Seeker: Third year Maria Stanley_**

**_All decisions are final. Thanks to all who tried out!_**

* * *

By the time November started, all the seventh years were ready for the holidays. They needed a really long break that wouldn't be here for another month and a half.

Finally, one Sunday afternoon in early November, James and Lily found themselves some time together. They were glad that they were caught up on their homework so that they could take the afternoon to be with each other. James wouldn't tell her where he was taking her. He only told her to dress for the outdoors. Luckily, today was a sunny and warm day in November so a lot of students were enjoying the outdoors. James had blind folded her and began leading her down stairs and tunnels so she would be confused as to which door he was taking her out of.

Once outside, he led her around to a spot on a hill that was overlooking the Black Lake. It was one of those breath takingly beautiful spots. He had a picnic all ready for just the two of them. A blanket was laid out with a basket of food from the house elves in the kitchen. He had set out a few extra blankets in case it got cold but it didn't seem like it would. Once they had gotten to the spot, James stopped Lily and removed the blindfold. She blinked a few times while her eyes adjusted and then gasped in surprise.

They were standing on top of a secluded hill that was behind the taller towers of the castle and down closer to the lake. This hill faced the lake which was sparkling from the sunlight. The trees were shades of red, gold and orange and barely any leaves had fallen off. The weather wasn't quiet cold enough for winter but there was a light breeze that made everything perfect.

"Oh, James" Lily exclaimed "it's so beautiful. I didn't know this spot was here."

"I'm glad you like it. I found it a couple of years ago when I just needed time away from Sirius and his craziness. Come on, let's eat."

James helped Lily to the ground and then sat down next to her. They took off their cloaks because sitting in the sun made them warm. Lily had a dark green sweater on and her favorite pairs of jeans. James had a gray and gold sweater on and his nicest pair of jeans. He handed her some food and a glass of butterbeer. They sat in silence and ate their food just looking out over the lake. Once they finished, they cleaned up and then Lily snuggled into James' arms.

"Thank you, James. That was wonderful."

"You are very welcome, Lily. I thought we should have a nice date since we haven't had much time together."

"Well, thank you again. It is a very lovely date." Lily leaned up and kissed James.

"James, can I talk to about something?"

"Of course, you can talk to me about anything."

"Okay, do you remember a few months ago when you said you would never let anything come between us?" James nodded. "Well, I feel like more and more girls are glaring at me like they can break us up by just a look. I know that I said I hated you but things change, people change. I guess I'm just tired of people not agreeing with us." Lily looked like she might cry but held it back.

"Lily, why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"I thought it would go away but it only got worse."

"I would do anything for you, you know that. As for the other girls, they are just jealous because I have the most beautiful, smart, kind, and gentle girl in the world" Lily blushed but he continued "soon they will stop because they will realize that I am _not _going to let you go."

"I'm still not sure that they will stop but I trust you" she smiled at him.

"How about, if the glaring, jealous looks haven't stopped by the end of the holidays, we will do something to make it stop" he gave her a smile that melted her heart.

"Okay, but promise that we won't do anything that will embarrass ourselves."

"I promise. Let's not worry about this until the time comes."

Lily nodded and snuggled closer to James. They sat there together for a few more minutes before either of them spoke.

"Lily, I love you" James whispered in her ear.

"I love you too, James" she whispered back.

Lily twisted herself around to face James. She lightly touched his face, stroking his cheek. He leaned his face into her touch and kissed her palm. He then continued to kiss up her arm, then across her shoulder and up her bare neck. She gave a shudder of delight as they pulled each other closer and James continued to kiss up her neck, across her jaw and then finally her lips. They were soft and gentle and just the way he remembered them. Lily began to lean backwards and pulled James with her never breaking the kiss. She laid down, wrapping her arms around his neck and in his hair. James gently pressed his body against hers, not wanting to put his whole weight on her, he held himself above her. Their kissing became passionate and fierce, soft and gentle, never hurried. James gently pulled Lily with him as he rolled over so she was on top of him. Her hands were still in his hair and he put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer, gently running his hands underneath her sweater, all over her lower back.

They were breathing as one and softly moaning together. They were in perfect sync. After a long snogging session (lasting for who knows how long), Lily finally pulled away, breathing heavily, smiled at him and just looked into his eyes. He gazed back and smiled at her. She shifted herself down so she could rest her head against his chest. She could hear his heart beat and smiled to herself. James gently ran a hand along her hair and rested his other hand on her arm. They laid there until the sky began to grow dark and Lily mentioned that they should go back inside.

James and Lily gathered up their things and made their way back into the school. They held hands as they climbed the hills back. When they entered the common room, they met their friends who were sitting in front of the fire. They all had the same look on their faces, shocked but happy. No one looked up as Lily and James joined them.

"Okay, what's going on?" James asked because he couldn't stand the silence anymore. Several people jumped and looked at James and Lily.

"Oh, James, Lily, well, we found out that Emily and Sirius are together" Remus said still stunned.

"Why don't _you_ look shocked?" Frank asked. James and Lily just looked at each other, neither one wanting to say anything.

"They already knew" Emily interrupted. Then everyone's eyes shifted back and forth between Lily and James and Emily and Sirius. They couldn't understand why they kept it a secret.

"What? You knew?" Alice asked shocked.

"Yes, er, Em can I tell them?" Lily asked with a sheepish smile. Emily nodded.

"Okay, so back in the first week of school, James and I came back from patrol and we saw those two snogging the life out of each other. We talked to them the next morning and they asked us to keep it quiet. So we did. How did you find out?"

"Well, none of us had seen Emily or Sirius all day, so we went looking for them and found them in a secret passageway, snogging" Mary said.

"All I have to say is, it's about time. I was tired of hearing you two bicker" Remus laughed.

The rest of the evening was spent laughing and talking about everything. Some ended the night early and others followed shortly after. Homework can be very exhausting.

* * *

The next week was abuzz with chatter about the first Quidditch match of the season. Like always it was Gryffindor versus Slytherin and everyone knew it. Both houses took to hexing the others in the corridors in between classes. No Quidditch player was seriously hurt enough that they wouldn't be able to play on Saturday. James was very quick at blocking hexes thrown his way but others weren't as lucky.

On top of Quidditch practice, there was homework and a lot of it but towards the end of the week teachers were sympathetic and surprisingly, gave them less homework. The seventh years were shocked when Professor McGonagall didn't give them homework. They were sure she would have but then again she wanted to hold onto that Quidditch Cup. She had a major soft spot for Quidditch so she only punished those who hexed the Gryffindors (biased, yes, but nonetheless appreciated).

It was Saturday morning, and the Great Hall was very lively. The Gryffindor team sat together with friends and fans surrounding them. Lily sat next to James comforting him because this was the game that would set the whole season. He was feeling better after Lily gave him a good luck kiss and walked with the team to the locker room.

Once the team reached the locker rooms, James gave them a last minute pep talk about everything. He raised their spirits and that's why the whole team respected him.

Twenty minutes before the game began, Lily and her friends made their way to the Quidditch pitch, trying to find the best seats possible. Almost all of the school was there by now and the stands were full of cheers and boos. Soon after, a voice rang out among the students. Anthony Bennett, a Ravenclaw, was the commentator for the day's match.

"Hello, and welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season. We see Gryffindor" he paused for cheers and boos "take on Slytherin" more cheers and boos.

"Please welcome the Gryffindor team lead by Captain James Potter… and the Slytherin team lead by Captain Augustus Flint."

The captains shook hands as instructed by Madam Hooch. The teams mounted their brooms and kicked off from the ground. They hovered while she got the balls ready.

"The bludgers are released followed by the golden snitch. And the quaffle is up… Gryffindor is in possession. Potter to Gordon to Hewitt back to Potter and score. Ten points to Gryffindor."

"Slytherin has the quaffle, Rowles to Thornton. Thornton swerves in and out of Gryffindor. Thornton narrowly misses getting hit by a bludger. Passes to Greene and back to Rowles…OH! Intercepted by Potter. Potter speeds off to the other end. Passes to Gordon, back to Potter. Potter rolls and misses a bludger. Potter drops it to Hewitt…Hewitt SCORES. Ten more points to Gryffindor."

Everyone so often, when James would hang back near the goal posts as strategy, he would glance to where Lily was sitting and smile at her. Every time she blushed and it made his heart swell, but then got quickly back into the game. The game lasted almost three hours and everyone had screamed themselves hoarse.

"The score is 190 to 180, Slytherins leads. Gryffindor has the quaffle and wait, did someone see the snitch. Yes, yes both seekers saw it and are battling it out!" It seemed like everyone else stopped and watched the two seekers go after it but James was taking advantage of the opposing team's distraction and scored another goal.

"Ten points for Gryffindor."

Lily watched excitedly as Maria Stanley, the Gryffindor seeker, and Athelney Strange, the Slytherin seeker battled it out for the snitch. They continuously bumped each other trying to get the other out of the way. Each had followed the movements of the snitch perfectly. The snitch went this way and that way, dipped and came back up. Finally the snitch dived toward the ground. Both seekers followed, Maria was a bit closer than Athelney. All of a sudden they leveled out with the ground following the snitch, and Maria inched ahead with her arm stretched out.

"GRYFFINDOR HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! 340 TO 190! What a catch made by Maria Stanley!"

As the team landed, a flood of red and gold stormed the field. Everyone surrounded the team and shouted victoriously. James made his way through the crowd searching for his favorite red head and found her standing near the locker room. She ran up to him and jumped up to him. He lifted her in a hug and spun her around. Once he set her down they had to yell a bit to be able to hear each other.

"James, that was fantastic. You were brilliant!" Lily smiled.

"Thanks, I really tried my hardest!"

"Well, it showed. You put together a spectacular team too! I'm so proud of you!"

Before he could speak again, he was surrounded by the rest of the team herding him into the locker room. He waved bye to Lily as she mouthed to meet her in his dormitory when he was done. Lily found Mary and they walked back to the common room. They were talking excitedly about the game just like everyone around them. Ever since they watched their first Quidditch match, they fell in love with it. Never wanting to play competitively themselves, they occasionally played for fun but they loved watching it. They loved when the boys would talk about it because they could get into the conversations as well. Quidditch was just one of the many topics that James and Lily had had a fight over in their time at Hogwarts.

Mary and Lily walked through the common room and up to their dormitory. There were preparations for the after party in the common room already going on. They took off their cloaks while laughing about the looks on the Slytherin's faces when the snitch was caught.

"Argh" Lily shouted as she looked in the mirror "my hair is atrocious. I didn't think it was that windy outside."

Mary laughed while Lily attempted to tame the wild mess that was her hair. After about five minutes, her hair was flat again and Emily and Alice had come back up. They mentioned that the team should be back soon and then the party will officially start. Lily said she should go over to the boy's dormitory before James gets back. She told them she would see them in a bit and left.

Lily walked down the stairs and then up the other stairs. She was glad that when the founders built the school that they trusted girls more than boys. When she reached the seventh year boys dormitory, she knocked just in case. She heard footsteps and then saw Remus open the door.

"Oh, I didn't think anyone would be in here. I asked James to meet me here."

"No, that's fine. I was just about to leave anyway. Will I see you at the party?"

"Yes, I don't think I could keep James away for too long before Sirius came looking for him" Lily laughed and Remus joined her. They smiled at each other and he left her sitting on James' bed.

While she waited, she looked at the pictures that James had laid on his table. Most were of him and his friends. There was one of James and his parents and then one of him and her from the summer that Sirius insisted on taking. James had insisted on giving her a piggy back ride. James was smiling and looked like he was thrilled that she was on his back. She was smiling too but she was laughing at the fact that she agreed to the ride in the first place. The picture made her smile and as she looked at the figures move, she didn't notice the door open and close and that James was standing in behind her.

"Lily?"

"Oh, James you scared me" she said while putting the pictures back.

"Sorry, what were you looking at?"

"That picture that Sirius made us take. The one where you're giving me a piggy back ride."

"That one, really? I thought you were mad that day."

"No, I wasn't mad. I was laughing in that picture because I couldn't believe that I let you give me a piggy back ride. Now that I look at it, I really like the picture" Lily said standing up.

"Good, because I love that picture" he said pulling her into a hug.

"James, you did wonderful today" she said looking up at him. He was actually quite a bit taller than her, roughly a foot taller.

"Thank you" he said leaning down to kiss her "was there something else you wanted? There had to be a reason you wanted to meet me here."

Lily laughed "Not really, I just wanted to congratulate you without on lookers."

"Oh, and how did you want to congratulate me?" he laughed.

"With a little of this" she kissed his cheek "and some of this" she kissed his lips "and more of this" she mumbled against his lips. They were lip locked for quite awhile. Finally, James pulled back for some air.

"Sorry" he laughed "but thank you for your congratulations. It was much appreciated."

"You are very welcome. You really did play wonderfully."

"Alright, as much as I want to continue, if we don't go down soon, Sirius will come up" he said while pulling her in for one last kiss. Then they walked out the door and joined everyone else for the party.

* * *

November passed in much the same way as October and then faded into December. The seventh years got more and more homework and were only getting about five hours of sleep during the week, a little more on the weekends. The weather was finally showing signs of winter. The castle began to get drafty and they could hear the winds howl during the night.

Two weeks before Christmas break, everyone in the castle was anxious for it. The castle had been decorated like it was every year. There were the twelve trees in the Great Hall and then garland and other decorations were put all over the school. This seemed to put everyone in a better mood even though they were stressed.

It was Saturday of the last Hogsmeade weekend before the New Year and the last Saturday before Christmas. James and Lily were in the Great Hall eating breakfast when Sirius and Emily joined them. They looked excited and ready to beg if they had to. This made James curious to what they were up to.

"Morning, what's going on?" James asked.

"What? Nothing" Sirius said a little too quickly.

"Sure, Sirius and I'm a veela. I know that look, what's on your mind?"

"Okay, fine, Em and I were hoping that you and Lily would take a break for _one_ day and come to Hogsmeade with us" he said with a hopeful look on his face.

"I don't know, Sirius. I really do have a lot of homework and I don't think I could get it all done tomorrow" Lily said uncertain.

"Come on, Lily. It's one day and we haven't been there all year. I'm sure you want to pick up some Christmas presents or something. We couldn't convince anyone else but we were really hoping that you two would agree" Emily pleaded.

"Lily, why not? We can help each other tomorrow if need be and we always get our homework done on time. It could be a kind of double date" James said convinced already.

Lily contemplated for a minute before answering "Oh, alright, one day won't hurt. But I don't need to pick up any presents. I'm done Christmas shopping."

"Yes, thank you Lily!" Emily squealed a little.

After breakfast, the four went to collect their cloaks, gloves and hats. It was a really windy and cold day. Lily snuggled closer to James as they walked the short way to Hogsmeade. As soon as they reached the village, they rushed into the Three Broomsticks to get away from the biting wind. They claimed a table near the fire and order some butterbeers.

"Oh, yes this was the perfect day to come to Hogsmeade" Lily said sarcastically.

"Oh, Lily, get over it. You will have a good time no matter what the weather is doing" Emily snapped.

"So Em, what are you doing for Christmas?" James asked.

"Well, I will be at my parent's house in London but they're kicking me out for New Year's."

"Oh, where are you going to go?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know, maybe Mary's or something. I will figure it out" she shrugged.

"Why don't you come to my house? My parents always throw a party and I'm always welcome to invite others" James said.

"Em, that would be wonderful. We could have everyone come over. Would that be alright?" Lily asked.

"Of course, it will be more fun."

They sat there for the next hour just talking about the holidays, speculating about what they're getting from everyone. After bundling up, they headed to Honeydukes to stock up on some candy for the Christmas holidays. As they were leaving, Sirius swore loudly causing several passing students to look strangely at him.

"Sirius, what is it?" Emily asked.

"Look over there. It's my brother and Snivellus with my cousin Bellatrix" Sirius hissed pointing across the street.

They all looked and saw that they were speaking in hushed tones looking around making sure they weren't being overheard. None of them noticed the four Gryffindors staring at them. James could tell that Sirius really wanted to go over and give his brother a piece of his mind but Sirius was holding himself back. Regulus, Severus and Bellatrix turned around and headed down an alley behind Zonko's. There was something going on.

"Padfoot, don't do anything stupid. Because if you do, then we all will have to go after you" James warned.

"Prongs, how can I just let them go? They could be planning something horrible and what if I could stop it? I will not let them hurt anyone" he growled.

"Sirius, James is right. It's one thing to be concerned but it's another to be stupid and rash" Emily said.

"I know, but it's my brother. I can't just let him throw his life away" Sirius said.

"Sirius, we're your friends, you have to trust us on this" Lily pleaded.

"Besides, you have known about your brother for a couple of years now. There's nothing you can do to change it" James said looking concerned at Sirius.

"I guess you're right. I just wish there was something I could do. I really thought that he would be different."

Sirius heaved a sigh and realized that he was going to lose this one. He nodded and grabbed Emily's arm and started walking back to the castle. James and Lily followed, looking at each other with concerned looks. They were having a silent conversation when they heard Emily shout.

"SIRIUS!" Emily shouted. James and Lily turned around to see him sprinting toward the alley. The three looked at each other and took off after him. They knew they wouldn't be able to bring him back but they wouldn't let him do this by himself. James was the first one to catch up to him. He was standing next a wall, looking around the corner. James peered over his shoulder and saw that he was staring at the three, no, four people standing in the shadows. James felt the girls stop behind him and look over their shoulders toward the end of the alley.

All of a sudden a flash of light shot straight over their heads. They all jumped back and whipped out their wands. They heard the voices becoming louder and closer.

"Come out, come out wherever you are" a voice rang out. It must have been Bellatrix because Sirius always tensed up when she was near.

The four looked at each other trying to figure out what to do next. If they ran, they would be caught. If they fought, they would be trapped. Either way they lost. They all looked at each other and nodded because they knew what they had to do. All at once they rounded the corner and shouted the same thing.

"INCARCEROUS!"

One of the curses hit the fourth person, while the other three missed. The other three looked startled that they were going to face them head on. They thought that the four would run away.

"Expelliarmus!" Regulus shouted but James threw a shield charm in front of them which caused the spell to rebound but it missed on the way back.

"Oh, look, the babies can play games" Bellatrix laughed in her infamous baby voice.

"Now, now, Bellatrix" Snape said "let's not play with them. We weren't supposed to harm anyone."

"Don't tell me what to do!" she hissed at him. The fourth person was still frozen and on the ground but no one paid him any attention.

"Lily, just leave. I don't want to hurt you" Snape pleaded.

"Don't tell me what to do! I will do whatever I bloody well please!" Lily spat back.

"Oh, Snape, is this the mudblood you are so fond of?" Bellatrix laughed.

"DON'T CALL HER THAT!" James shouted.

"Oh, touched a nerve, have I?" Bellatrix laughed again. James, Sirius, Lily and Emily just glared at them.

"Well, if you care so much for her, what will you do for her?" Bellatrix said giving them a wicked grin.

"Bellatrix" Snape warned ready to interfere. But she didn't hear him, she had something planned.

"Crucio" she said and the spell missed Lily because she moved out of the way, she knew it was coming.

Just then James sent a spell at Bellatrix but she blocked it. Everyone was starting to get angry now.

"Sirius, why don't you and your _friends_ get lost before you lose one of them" Regulus hissed.

"No, baby brother" was all he got out because just then Snape sent a hex his way but he quickly blocked it.

"Have it your way then" Regulus said and threw a hex toward Emily. It missed her by an inch. Sirius was really angry by now and wanted this to end.

All seven of them began throwing hexes, jinxes and spells at each other but none seemed to hit their mark. They were all shooting and deflecting spells and were surprised when no one came to see what the ruckus was; it wasn't exactly a quiet exchange. Bricks were hit and sent pieces toward everyone. A few got hit with those shards but didn't really notice, they were too wrapped up in protecting themselves from spells.

"CRUICO!" Bellatrix shouted and hit Lily square in the chest. She dropped to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain as Bellatrix's face lit up with demented glee. She was too preoccupied with Lily, to notice the spell James sent at her. She let out a shriek as she lost concentration therefore releasing Lily from her torture.

Lily laid there for a little bit, catching her breath. In the meantime, James, Sirius and Emily kept shooting spell after spell towards the enemy. They were all glad that they were really good at nonverbal spells otherwise they wouldn't be getting anywhere. Just as Lily got to her feet, Bellatrix took off into a side door of an abandoned building in the alley. Regulus, Snape and the other one (the jinx finally wore off) sent spells toward the others as they followed Bellatrix.

The other four took off after them, not wanting to lose this fight. They were ready as soon as they entered the building because four spells were coming at them, but they blocked them. There was really nothing in the building to hide behind except one tall rack of metal shelves but it wouldn't protect you very much. They spread out to be able to attack better.

Emily took on the unknown fourth person, James had Snape, Sirius had his brother Regulus and Lily got Bellatrix. They were all dueling, spells going this way and that way. Each taunting the other.

"It looks like the itty, bitty mudblood knows how to play" Bellatrix taunted as she looked at Lily.

Lily was about to retort when Bellatrix pointed her wand at the shelves behind Lily. There was a small explosion as boxes and other things on the shelves were blasted into the air. The shelving began to sway and Lily tried to get out of the way but Bellatrix shouted something inaudible causing Lily to freeze and fall over. Her wand was forced out of her hand once she hit the ground and it skidded next to James' foot. Just then everyone seemed to stop at the same time as the shelving came crashing down on Lily. The four Death Eaters took this opportunity to run and as they left Bellatrix cackled with glee.

"LILY!" James screamed as he rushed over to her.

* * *

I would love the reviews...sorry there is so much space in between updates


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Patronuses and Pranks**

James stared at the shelving that fell on top of Lily. He could feel the tears streaking down his face. Several of the shelves on the rack hit Lily but none hit her head. Most hit her back and legs. Emily and Sirius were just staring too, unable to believe what just happened.

"Lily, Lily, Lily" James was saying, pain in his voice. Then he stopped because he heard a soft moan come from Lily.

James quickly went into action which brought the other two out of their trances. All three of them levitated the shelving off of Lily and set it down across the room. James was the first one to reach Lily. He felt her pulse and it was there but weak.

"What should we do? I'm afraid if we move her we might damage something even more" James asked.

"Well, we could go fetch Dumbledore and see what he thinks but then we will probably get in trouble" Emily said.

"Whatever happens, I will take full blame for this. It's completely my fault that we went after them" Sirius said guiltily.

Emily and James just stared at him; he never takes the blame for anything unless he gets caught. James decided to send his patronus rather than leaving Lily and taking even more time. He already knew how to do the Patronus Charm, also his father had taught him how to send messages with it. He sent a message to Dumbledore that said _Lily is hurt. In building behind Zonko's. Come quick_. His stag took off and he turned back to Lily, making sure she was still breathing.

She was but it was very ragged and shallow. Emily had picked up Lily's wand and then knelt down next to James and Sirius. It was only a minute before Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey came bustling through the door.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey demanded as she knelt down next to Lily.

"Well, in short, those shelves over there" James said pointing to them "fell on her after being tortured with the Cruciatus Curse. She's breathing but it's weak."

Madam Pomfrey worked quickly figuring out what was wrong. She then conjured up a stretcher and levitated Lily onto it. She left with Lily and then the McGonagall and Dumbledore looked toward the other three for answers.

"Well, what happened here?" McGonagall insisted.

"Minerva, let's wait for an explanation until we are back in my office" Dumbledore said calmly.

They all nodded and followed the teachers through Hogsmeade, through the castle grounds, and up to Dumbledore's office. They all sat down and Dumbledore looked at them with his classic x-ray look.

"So, who will be the one to tell us what happened?" Dumbledore asked.

The three looked at each other and decided that Sirius would start and Emily and James would add in where they felt they needed to. Sirius began and told them of Regulus and Snape talking to Bellatrix and how Sirius wanted to stop his brother from destroying his life. He told them of running after them after they disappeared down the alley and that James, Emily and Lily came after him. Then they began fighting, sending spells everywhere.

James interrupted after that and began telling the story. He told them how Bellatrix hit Lily with the Cruciatus Curse and then he hit Bellatrix with a spell releasing Lily from the torture. He said Lily got up in time to chase after the other four as they disappeared into the abandoned building and that's when Bellatrix blasted the shelves and froze Lily and then the shelving fell on her and it happened too fast for any of them to stop it.

When James finished, Dumbledore had a sad look on his face and he was contemplating what to do next. McGonagall looked solemn and then looked toward Dumbledore for further instruction.

"I see. Well, I can't do anything about Mr. Snape or Mr. Black because I have no evidence that they were there except your word. Now, don't get me wrong, I believe you in saying that they were there but if I were to try and punish them, they would deny it." James, Sirius and Emily nodded in understanding, waiting for him to continue.

"Sirius, if I am not mistaken, you wish to take full blame for this?" Sirius nodded "I will not punish you with detention but I will take away house points for stupidity."

They all chuckled a little because that is something Sirius would get points taken off for. "I think twenty points will suffice. Now, I'm sending you all down to the hospital wing to be checked over. Get going then."

James, Sirius and Emily all got up and headed down to the infirmary, not speaking but all their thoughts were on Lily. As they opened the doors to the infirmary, they saw Lily lying on a bed perfectly still. Madam Pomfrey saw them enter and rushed over to them.

"Alright, sit down while I check you over."

Nothing was wrong with them except they had a few cuts and bruises. She gave them a glass Pepper-Up potion because they were outside so long and made them stay the rest of the evening.

"Madam Pomfrey?" James asked.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Will Lily be alright?"

"Yes, she had a few broken bones in her back, one arm and one leg was broken and she had some scratches but otherwise she should be physically alright. As for her emotionally, I'm not sure. The Cruciatus Curse differs from person to person."

"But she got up shortly after the curse was lifted and it was only used on her once."

"Well, then, she will most likely be fine maybe a little traumatized but it will pass quickly. She is sleeping and will probably be released either Monday evening or Tuesday morning."

James sighed in relief but knew Lily was going to be beyond herself because she missed so much homework. He laughed to himself and quickly fell asleep afterwards.

* * *

Lily was comfortable. She could tell she was lying in a bed and she guessed she was in the hospital wing because of the distinct smell. She could feel someone's hand in hers and guessed it was James because of the way his hand felt. Lily gave the hand a squeeze and the hand squeezed back. She smiled and opened her eyes and found James smiling back at her.

"Hey" she said.

"Lily, you're awake. I will be right back" James sighed. He got up and went over to Madam Pomfrey's office and she followed him back to where Lily was. James sat back down and grabbed Lily's hand. She smiled at him and then turned to Madam Pomfrey.

"Good, you're awake sooner than I expected. Let me check you over. Mr. Potter if you would kindly wait outside the curtain." James got up as she pulled the curtain around Lily's bed.

After about five minutes, the curtain was opened again and Madam Pomfrey was smiling which she hardly ever did.

"Well, Miss Evans, your bones seem to have healed nicely and I don't see anything else wrong with you. I want you to stay the rest of the evening but I think you can be out of here early tomorrow morning. But you will come back every morning for a few days so I can change the wrapping around your chest. How do you feel though?"

"Good, a little sore but nothing unbearable" Lily answered with a smile.

"Alright, well I will let you rest. Remember Mr. Potter only a half hour until you have to leave."

James nodded and then waited until she disappeared behind her office door before turning to Lily. He leaned over and kissed her showing that he was glad she was alright.

"Lily, I was so scared, but I'm glad you're better."

"Thanks, James. I can't believe that I had shelving fall on me" she said.

"Well, you're alright so we can move past it. But I have to ask, are you alright after the Cruciatus Curse?" he said with concern coloring his beautiful hazel eyes.

"Yes, I am. I'm not thrilled that I had to experience it but it didn't last long."

James smiled and they sat in silence for a little while before Lily spoke.

"Are you, Sirius and Emily alright?"

"Yes, we only had a few cuts and bruises and Sirius only got twenty points taken away for stupidity. He took full blame for what happened."

Lily laughed "Of course he would get points taken away for stupidity, only him. By the way, what day is it?"

"It's Sunday evening. You have only been out for about a day."

"Bloody hell, all that homework that is due tomorrow. Now I'm going to be even more behind" Lily sighed exasperated. James just laughed at her because he knew this is how she would react.

"What? Why are you laughing at me?"

"Oh, I just knew that you were going to be more concerned about your homework than your health. Lily, I'm sure the teachers will give you an extension and we will all help you catch up. Just be glad that you can get out tomorrow morning and not miss classes."

"Good point. That would really put a damper on my day" she laughed.

Early the next morning, Madam Pomfrey wrapped up Lily's chest to protect her back and she went back to the common room to change before breakfast. When she opened the door to her dormitory, Emily, Mary and Alice all descended on her but not hugging her in case they hurt her. She assured them that she was fine and went to change before breakfast.

At breakfast, everyone was looking at Lily deciding for themselves that she was alright. Living in this school, made big events like this harder to keep from people. But it seemed that all the students knew was that there was a duel and that Lily Evans got hurt. They had no idea who else was involved besides James, Sirius and Emily. So they made their own conclusions which were wrong but no one corrected them.

James was right in saying that the teachers would give Lily an extension on the homework she had from the weekend but she also had to do the homework that she got that day too. She was glad that she didn't have patrols tonight otherwise she would never have gotten caught up. James helped her with what he could but the other things she had to do by herself. By Tuesday, she was caught up and had the homework from the day before done. Before breakfast she stopped by the hospital wing to get her wrappings changed and saw Severus coming in as she went out. They looked at each other as they passed but neither said a word to the other.

The morning went by quickly. As usual they got homework but it was very manageable and easily done. Lunch was uneventful but delicious all the same. The only class they had left for the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws.

"Alright, class. Today we will be working on the Patronus Charm. I figured because of the impending war that you should know this in case you come upon a Dementor. We will not try it on a boggart that is transformed to look like one until later. I just want you to be able to try and produce a patronus before we put you to the test" Professor Goldman said.

"Okay, stand up and I will move the desks and chairs to give us more room" everyone obeyed and the desks were gone.

"To perform a patronus, you need to think of a happy memory. But not just any happy memory, a particularly strong, happy memory. I know you have studied this before but you have not tried to cast it so I don't expect everyone to get it right away. Now, if you have a happy memory, let it fill you up. Keep that memory in your mind and when you're ready say _Expecto Patronum_."

Lily thought of one thing that made her happy, it was being with James. She focused on him and the time on his roof where she told him she loved him and they kissed for the first time. She was truly happy then. She took a deep breath and said the words.

"Expecto Patronum" and a silvery wisp of a shield came out of her wand. She was too excited to keep it going so it vanished quickly after.

"Good job, Miss Evans" Professor Goldman said "try again."

The room was filled with shouts of _Expecto Patronum _and some produced the same wisps that Lily did. The only people not practicing were Sirius, James, Remus and Peter, but no one seemed to notice.

"Expecto Patronum" Lily shouted again and a silvery shield burst from her wand and then transformed into what looked like a silver doe. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the doe standing in the middle of the room. Then a stag bounded up next to it and everyone looked around to see who produced it.

James came walking up next to Lily with his wand pointed at the stag. Everyone looked between the two patronuses and James and Lily trying to figure out what this meant. Professor Goldman was the first to break the silence.

"Well done, Miss Evans and Mr. Potter. Although, is it safe to assume that you, Mr. Potter, already knew how to produce a patronus?" James nodded and Goldman continued "It seems that we have matching patronuses. This could mean that Lily and James have very similar personalities and just happen to have the same patronus except in the gender of their caster or that they have similar personalities and are destined to be together seeing how their patronuses are mates. Whichever it may be this is very rare and I have never actually seen this personally."

The patronuses vanished and everyone went back to trying it themselves. James and Lily were still standing, awestruck in the middle of the room. Sirius finally had to drag them into chairs otherwise they would never snap out of it.

"Okay, you two, snap out of it. So what your patronuses are mates, it's no reason to go into shock."

"Sorry, Padfoot, it was just surprising. I had never heard of matching patronuses" James said coming out of his daze.

"Me either, I'm just surprised but happy at the same time" Lily laughed.

Class ended and Sirius, James and Lily bet that by the end of the evening the whole school would know about their patronuses and they were right. Everywhere they went someone was talking about it and every time it made Lily and James blush and laugh.

* * *

The next few days went by quickly especially considering that Christmas break started at the end of the week. Usually, the week before break was always slow but not this week. It was Friday before they knew it and they only had a few more hours before leaving for break.

The day started out normally but then things took a turn when people began getting caught underneath doorways by mistletoe that wasn't there before, garland around the corridors started grabbing people and wouldn't let them go, and people would randomly get pelted with snowballs. The only way to get out of the mistletoe was to kiss the other person that got stuck underneath. It was all random so no one knew if it would be them or not. To get out of the garland you had to sing a couple lines of a Celestina Warbeck song. Most people knew at least one line but those who didn't were stuck in them for awhile. As for the snowballs, there really was no way to avoid them.

The Marauders were good at avoiding the pranks they pulled and helped their friends avoid them too. But as Lily and Sirius were passing under the doorway out of the Transfiguration room, they got stuck. Neither was thrilled about it but there was nothing they could do about it. Lily and Sirius sighed and gave a quick peck on the lips. Luckily, that worked and they were allowed to leave. For the rest of the day, James made sure he was always next to Lily and Sirius made sure he was always next to Emily so they could avoid another one of those situations.

As they were walking past the Great Hall, they heard someone shout and looked over to see Remus trapped in the garland. Sirius burst out laughing while Remus cursed at him for thinking of this boneheaded idea.

"Oh, come on Remus, let's hear that pretty voice of yours otherwise you're going to be left here all break" Sirius laughed.

Remus scowled but sang it anyway while several people in the corridor laughed with Sirius. He was released and stormed away from Sirius. James smacked Sirius upside the head for laughing so hard and then left for the common room dragging Lily with him. As they reached the seventh floor corridor, they suddenly stopped because they couldn't move. They looked up and saw mistletoe appear.

"Well, at least it's both of us this time" Lily laughed.

James pulled Lily as close as he could because of the charm and kissed her deeply. They felt their feet become unstuck and they moved closer. They heard a faint pop; broke apart and looked up to see the mistletoe gone. They looked at each other trying to figure out where it went.

"I'm guessing if it is a true kiss, they disappear" Lily smiled.

"I guess so. When I read about the charm, it didn't say anything about that but at least no one will get caught in that one" James laughed and pulled Lily with him to the common room. They still had to pack before heading to the Potter's. They weren't leaving until tomorrow morning but wanted to be ready to leave right away.

James pulled Lily with him as he went up to his dormitory. He knew that no one was in there because he had just left them to go to dinner and they passed Remus sitting in the common room. As soon as the door shut, he pulled Lily into a deep kiss. They stood there for a minute before Lily pulled away not being able to contain her laughter.

"James, we will have all break to snog" she laughed.

"I know, but I couldn't resist" he laughed with her but she noticed that something was off in his eyes.

"James, this isn't about the kiss that Sirius and I had to have, is it?" she asked narrowing her eyes.

"What? No."

"It is! James, I love you, not Sirius. I only kissed him because we had to otherwise we would have been stuck there forever."

"I know, but I guess I was just jealous. I mean he's my best mate and you're my girl."

"Don't worry James, if we ever kiss again it will just be a friendly kiss but I don't think we will have a reason to kiss again" Lily laughed.

"Good, now let's finish packing."

* * *

The seventh years who knew how to Apparate were granted permission from the headmaster to walk into Hogsmeade and leave for break that way rather than taking the train. At about nine, all the seventh years that were leaving made their way to Hogsmeade with their trunks. Most were smart enough to shrink their trunks to stick in their pockets before leaving but others were not.

It was just going to be The Marauders and Lily at the Potter's during break but Emily, Mary and Alice promised they would stop by to give Lily a break from the boys' antics. Lily hugged her friends telling them she would see them in a few days. Sirius kissed Emily and said good-bye to the other girls. The girls left and then it was Lily and the boys standing in the snow. Lily nodded to them and they all Disapparated to the Potter's.

Lily landed and noticed that the boys already had the front door open. She quickly caught up to them and as soon as she stepped in the doorway, she was engulfed in a hug. A little confused as to who was hugging her she hugged back and then was released. Mrs. Potter was smiling widely at her so Lily smiled back.

"Oh, Lily, I'm so glad you came back for Christmas."

"I said I was going to" Lily laughed.

"I would never just say something to make someone feel better. I always mean what I say."

"So you really meant what you said when you called me an arrogant toerag?" James asked seriously with laughter in his eyes.

"Well, at the time yes, but now no."

"Wait, Lily you called James an arrogant toerag?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"Yes, but he really was one at the time but then he deflated his head and I changed my mind" she said sheepishly.

"Good, he needed someone to try and keep him level headed at school and I'm glad he changed your mind" Mrs. Potter laughed.

"Alright, enough about how I was a toerag" James said dragging Lily out of the kitchen, leaving Mrs. Potter laughing.

"James, we were just having a little fun."

"I know Lily, but I'm a little ashamed of how much of a toerag I was" James admitted.

They were half way up the stairs when they realized that Remus, Sirius and Peter had disappeared. They looked in James' room and then the room Sirius stays in and then Lily's but they weren't in any of them. Both dropped off their trunks, and went to look for them. They weren't upstairs or in the living room or the kitchen. They stopped and listened for any noise but heard nothing. After ten minutes, they gave up deciding that they would show up sooner or later.

Around dinner, they mysteriously showed up but wouldn't say anything further about where they had been. James and Lily looked at them suspiciously but let it drop, for now. As soon as dinner was over, they disappeared again leaving Lily, James and his parents. After awhile, James' parents went to bed, leaving them alone on the couch. They knew they should go upstairs but it was too perfect of a moment. Lily and James began snogging on the couch. They were pretty much all over each other. It had been awhile since they could be together like this. They were there for about fifteen minutes before they were interrupted.

"Oy! Get a room!" an all too familiar voice shouted. James and Lily bolted apart, due to a spell, looking surprised and very disheveled and turning a deep shade of red. They saw Sirius sprint up the stairs with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Sorry, Lily, James, I tried to stop him but you know Sirius" Remus apologized.

"It's alright, we can get him back later" Lily said.

"I like the way you think" James smiled, trying to smooth his hair.

"You two are perfect for each other" Remus said shaking his head.

"I guess this is our cue to leave" Lily laughed to James.

"I guess so. G'night Moony, Wormtail" James said dragging Lily with him as he went up the stairs.

Lily was laughing as she passed Remus and a very confused looking Peter. James quickly pulled Lily into his room and shut the door. He resumed where they left off before they were interrupted. Lily was a little surprised but responded nonetheless. After about five minutes, Lily pulled away to a very disappointed looking James.

"Sorry, love, but I think I should really get to bed. I promised your mother that I would help her and that requires me to get up early."

"Alright, I understand, but you will have to tell me how we are going to get Padfoot back" James laughed.

"I will, tomorrow night, it's a date" Lily said giving James one last kiss and left the room.

* * *

Morning came too early on the 23rd. James rolled out of bed knowing that if he didn't, Sirius would be there shortly. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was only eight-thirty, which was still too early. He got ready quickly and went down stairs. No one else was in the kitchen when he got down there so he started a pot of tea. He sat down at the table and yawned hugely when Lily and his mother came in laughing.

"Oh, good morning James" Mrs. Potter said.

"Morning Mum. Morning Lily."

"Morning James" Lily said giving him a kiss.

"So, what were you two laughing about?"

"Er… well, your mother was telling me a story about when you got your first broomstick" Lily confessed.

"Aww, Mum, not that one" James groaned.

"Now, James, don't worry, I didn't show her the pictures."

"Oh, there are pictures" Lily said trying to control her smile.

"Yes, but you don't want to see them" James told her.

"I think I would like to decide for myself" Lily said.

"Trust me Lily, if I showed you those pictures, James would be mad for a long time. He has tried hard to keep those photos from Sirius' eyes" Mrs. Potter said while preparing breakfast.

"Oh, they can't be that bad but I would have to agree with you trying to keep them from Sirius" Lily laughed.

"Lily, I fell off the broom into a tree and then when I came down my pants had come off. How could that not be that bad?" James said raising his eyebrows daring her to disagree.

"Alright, I give. I'm sorry love, and I promise not to tell Sirius."

"Tell Sirius what?" Sirius asked as he sat down at the table.

"What do you think I promise not to tell?" Lily asked narrowing her eyes, waiting for his answer.

"How should I know?" Sirius said.

"Exactly."

"What?"

"What?"

"No, what were you saying exactly to?"

"Precisely" Lily said trying to contain her smile.

"Alright, I'm confused. Forget it."

"Forget what?"

"Argh, stop it Lily" Sirius said exasperated.

Lily just laughed and helped herself to the pancakes Mrs. Potter had just set on the table. Shortly after, Remus, Peter and Mr. Potter stumbled into the kitchen and began eating with the rest of them. Once breakfast was over, the men went to find a tree while Lily and Mrs. Potter decorated the house.

Lunch came quickly and the men had brought back a tree. They set it up and then went to clean up before lunch. Afterwards, everyone helped decorate the tree, the muggle way considering there were too many of them to use magic to decorate the tree. The rest of the afternoon was left to themselves to do whatever they wanted. Sirius was excited because Emily was going to come over for dinner. Remus and Peter dragged Sirius upstairs for even more sneaking around that left Lily and James confused.

"I wonder what they are up to" James said as they disappeared.

"I don't know, but the fact they you aren't included must mean something."

"You're right! I didn't even think about that." James said hanging his head, Lily just laughed.

"Don't worry James, I'm sure you will find out soon enough" Lily said reassuringly.

"Oh, I just remembered, we have a date scheduled. I know you said tonight but maybe we could push it up or have two today?"

"Well, sure. But before we start talking, we should go somewhere else."

Lily dragged James into his room and onto the bed. He was about to speak when Lily put a finger against his lips stopping him. She locked the door with several charms and cast muffliato. James smiled at her when she was finished.

"What?"

"Oh, I just love the way you think."

"Well, I don't want us to be overheard, especially by Sirius."

"I know. So is this our date or our planning date?"

"Our planning date. I have an idea but we would have to talk to Emily about it but I'm sure she would be perfectly alright with it."

"Okay, so what's your idea, Lily?"

"Well, I can almost guarantee that they will be snogging at some point tonight. If we can set it up so they are doing it on the couch, that would be ideal."

"Ideal for what?"

"I'm guessing that your parents will be the first to bed, no offense but they are rather old."

"I know, I was a late miracle in life" James smirked puffing out his chest but then got hit by Lily.

"Don't get a big head. Anyway, once they are upstairs, we can all leave shortly after because I know Em won't be staying all night and I'm sure everyone else, maybe not Peter, will get the hint that they want some time together."

"Okay, so get them alone on the couch, then what?"

"We dump a bucket of pudding on them. Now, I know it's not very brilliant but we only want to get him back for that spell last night."

"No, I like it. I agree, pudding would be very surprising like that spell last night. But my Mum won't be too happy if we mess her furniture."

"I know, that's why we cast impervious on everything in the room in case the pudding goes everywhere. And I want to tell Em what we are doing and that we can cast impervious on her too."

"Sounds good to me. I love the way you think. You are definitely worthy of being a Marauder."

"Aww, thank you James. So we should wait about five minutes after we leave, we can wait on the stairs after faking closing the doors to our rooms. Then use nonverbal spells to protect everything. We can float the bucket into the room and then dump it when ready."

"Okay, sounds like this should be great. Oh, we might want to tell Moony and Wormtail about this and then maybe cast muffliato on my parent's bedroom door, to be safe."

"I agree, I wouldn't want to wake your parents."

"Now that we have everything planned, can I give you a preview about our date later tonight?" James said raising his eyebrows.

"I don't see why not."

* * *

Emily arrived at about five. Shortly after Lily pulled her into her room to tell her of their plans. Lily had to wait about ten minutes while Emily babbled about something that happened when she got home.

"Oh, sorry, Lily. You said you wanted to talk to me. What about?"

"Okay, so last night James and I were snogging on the couch. No one was around and then all of a sudden we were blasted apart, by Sirius no less."

"I will get him for interrupting you two" she said getting up.

"No, wait, James and I have something planned. We told Remus and Peter about it and we wanted to tell you because you will be involved."

"Okay, what is it?"

"We were hoping that before you leave, that you would pull Sirius in for a snog, on the couch downstairs. Don't worry, we will make sure everyone is out of the room. Then James and I will cast impervious around the room to protect the furniture but we were also going to cast it on you because I doubt you would want to get doused with pudding."

"Oh my gosh, I love it. He certainly deserves it but don't worry about protecting me. Just let the pudding get on both of us so I can act a little better" Emily laughed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's just pudding Lily, but do protect the other furniture. Oh and please don't make it butterscotch pudding. I don't like butterscotch."

"Don't worry, it won't be that" shaking her head at her friend's silliness. "Although, I am surprised that you are willing to get pudding on you."

"Hey, just call it helping but I will make sure he is on top, if you know what I mean, that way he gets more of the pudding" Emily laughed.

"You are truly a great friend" Lily laughed pulling her along as they left the room.

Dinner was eventful, after all Sirius was there. About halfway through, Sirius was animatedly talking, using his hands and all, when a forkful of mashed potatoes flew off and hit James dead center on his forehead. Everything stopped, and then Sirius had a face full of gravy, courtesy of James. Luckily, Mrs. Potter was quick enough to vanish things before they really got out of hand. After James and Sirius apologized, Mrs. Potter brought back the food and dinner continued normally after that.

When things were cleaned up, James and Sirius' punishment, everyone retired to the living room. Mr. Potter was shaking his head over the _Evening_ _Prophet_ because of more disappearances. Mrs. Potter was reading a book and Lily and Emily were talking animatedly about things that no one understood. The boys were, well, being boys. Remus and Peter were playing wizard's chess and James and Sirius were fighting about something, but soon they got really quiet and were taking in hushed tones but no one else noticed.

Soon, James' parents went up to bed. James and Lily looked at each other and nodded knowing what was next. Remus and Peter took their cue to leave and were gone. A few minutes later, James and Lily left saying they were tired from being up so early. They went up the stairs and shut both doors but didn't go in. James cast muffliato on his parent's door and they quietly crept down the stairs. James told Lily of the squeaky step and helped her over it, they were both trying to keep their laughter silent.

Once at the bottom, Lily told James to wait here while she checked if Emily was doing her job. She peeked around the corner and saw that everything was ready so she motioned for James to come. They nonverbally cast the spells around the room and waited a few minutes after that to make sure Sirius didn't notice anything. It seemed that Emily was doing her job perfectly. James conjured up a bucket and then Lily filled it with pudding. Lily tapped the bucket and it floated over to the couch. It hovered over Sirius and Emily for a second before Lily flicked her wand it the bucket tipped over.

"AHHH!" Sirius shouted pulling away from Emily. "What the bloody hell was that?"

Lily and James came into view laughing harder than ever. When Sirius saw them, he was at a loss for words.

"James, I do think that is pay back enough, don't you think?" Lily laughed wiping a tear from her eye.

"Why yes I do, Lily."

"What? This was you?" Sirius said his anger flaring.

"Well, what did you expect Sirius? Lily told me about last night and then think about all the other times you did something similar" Emily reasoned.

"Wait, you knew about this?" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"No, I didn't" Emily said very believably.

"Oh, so you're taking their side?"

"What? Of course not, Sirius."

"Well, alright, but that was not funny."

"Sorry, Padfoot, but that was completely hilarious and you totally deserved it."

"Here Sirius" Lily said and siphoned the pudding off of them "well you totally deserved that, so now we will leave you be because you won't see each other until after Christmas. Night you two."

Lily grabbed James' hand and dragged him up the stairs. She pulled him into her room, immediately locked the door and pushed him up against it.

"I think it's time for our other date" she whispered into his ear, sending tingles all over his body.

"I believe you're right."

* * *

wow, I must love you guys to be updated twice in one day. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Ok, this is not my favorite chapter, shorter than the others, kinda boring, but it's a filler chapter that needed to happen. I apologize for the long wait but I just got so unexpectedly busy. I do want to let you know that this story won't be as long as I thought it would be but that's alright because there are still a fair few chapters left. I know I won't make it to that fateful Halloween night but we all know what happened anyway, so why write it a different way? I'm done babbling, read and review, because I enjoy reading your opinions.

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* * *

Chapter 11: Christmas**

Christmas Eve was here. It was always an exciting time in the Potter household especially if James' friends were here. They were always bouncing off the walls, hyped up on sugar and excited for the next day. It usually drove Mrs. Potter crazy, so she always sent them outside to do whatever they wanted to do. But this year would be different. Lily was here and she would have someone to talk to and keep her sane. Her husband was usually working that way he could have the next day off and only be on call for extremely important things.

As Mrs. Potter walked into the kitchen, she sensed something was wrong. She looked around but everything seemed to be in order, so she shrugged it off and went to start a pot of tea. When she looked out the window, she saw a familiar sheet of red hair, standing in the snow (with shoes on of course). Mrs. Potter was slightly worried because Lily was standing in the cold at seven-thirty in the morning. She quickly put on her cloak and pulled on some boots before walking outside to talk to Lily. This was what she sensed was wrong, it must have been her mom sense kicking in.

Lily didn't hear the crunch of snow until Mrs. Potter was almost next to her. Mrs. Potter looked at Lily, her eyes were red and there were tear streaks down her cheeks. She knew that Lily didn't even care that it was freezing outside. Mrs. Potter just pulled Lily into her arms, where she began to sob. After a few minutes, Lily stopped and pulled away to wipe her eyes.

"Lily" Mrs. Potter asked tentatively "are you alright?" Lily shook her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Okay" she said very softly.

When Lily didn't go on, Mrs. Potter broke the silence. "Lily, why don't we go inside. The boys won't be up for awhile and Richard left an hour ago. It will just be us."

Lily nodded and let Mrs. Potter lead her into the house. She sat her down at the table and made her a cup of tea. Once Lily had taken a sip, Mrs. Potter carefully approached the subject. She didn't want Lily to start crying.

"Can you tell me why you were standing outside?"

"I needed to c-clear my h-head" Lily stuttered out while calming her sobs.

"Why?"

"I th-thought fresh air might h-help."

"I understand but Lily, what's wrong?"

"Well, Christmas Eve was always a time that my mother and I spent together. We would make cookies and then we would have some cocoa and then we would make a really nice dinner together for everyone."

"Oh, Lily, I'm sorry. This really must be hard for you" Mrs. Potter had a few tears in her eyes.

"Thank you, it is because this is the first one without her. I think it will get better as time goes on but today is going to be really difficult for me. I loved that time we spent together. My sister was always jealous of that but honestly, she can't cook" Lily laughed a little at the end.

"I'm sure. Well, I will completely understand if you don't want to and I know I'm not your mother and I don't want to replace her, but if you want we could make cookies and have cocoa and make a really nice dinner for the men. We can even do it the muggle way."

"Really? You would do that for me?" Lily smiled hopefully.

"Of course, you are like a daughter to me. I will never replace your mother in your heart but if I can be a substitute to make this easier, I would be glad to do so."

"Oh, Jillian, that would be wonderful. Thank you" Lily said giving her a hug.

"It is no problem dear. But I will have to warn you, I haven't cooked the muggle way in a long time, so you might have to help me there" she laughed and Lily joined her wiping her eyes.

"Don't worry, I know exactly what to do."

Lily helped Mrs. Potter bake, with magic, several types of muffins, fry some bacon, scramble some eggs and toast bread. By the time they were done, the boys were all at the table looking ravenous. Mrs. Potter and Lily laughed and set everything on the table watching their hands as they pulled away.

James noticed that Lily was a little red eyed but didn't say anything guessing Lily wouldn't want everyone else to know. He grabbed some food and began eating. Lily and Mrs. Potter just got some food before Sirius went for seconds.

The rest of the morning, Lily and Mrs. Potter baked Christmas cookies and then decorated them. The boys kept sneaking into the kitchen trying to steal some cookies but each time Mrs. Potter hit whoever it was with a small jinx. After four of those jinxes, needless to say, no one tried again. Once all the cookies were done, Lily showed Mrs. Potter how she and her mother made homemade cocoa. She heated up milk on the stove, added sugar and cocoa powder and some cinnamon, then waited while everything got good and hot and served it up. She sprinkled some more cinnamon on the top and told the boys that they could enter the kitchen again.

"Are you sure it's safe?" James asked tentatively.

"Yes, it is. You can eat some cookies and have some cocoa. We won't jinx you."

The boys slowly came in, making sure they weren't lying. When they saw them at the table with cups and a plate of cookies, they quickly rushed to the table and sat with them.

"Oh, oh, oh, bloody hell, these are amazing cookies!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Thank you" Lily said blushing.

"How did you learn to make these? And the cocoa?" James asked looking like he was in heaven.

"My mum taught it to me when I was eight and then every Christmas Eve we continued the tradition" Lily said with a sad smile.

"Lily, I bow down to you" Sirius said actually bowing. Everyone laughed and finished everything up.

"Er, Jillian?" Lily asked.

"Yes?"

"Would it be alright if I took a nap after lunch, before we start on dinner?"

"Of course, you can. You don't have to ask."

"I know, but dinner will take some time since I'm showing you the muggle way. So don't let me sleep longer than a few hours."

"Alright, but do you need me to do anything while your napping?"

"Oh, yes but I will tell you in before I go up."

Soon after the cookies and cocoa, lunch was ready. Strangely, everyone was really hungry even though they just had cookies. After lunch, Lily told Mrs. Potter to rub certain herbs on the turkey and stuff it with some things and let it rest in the icebox for awhile. They were going to cook it some in the oven then finish it off with magic. Normally, Lily and her mother would have started the turkey a lot earlier but since magic was so convenient, she let Mrs. Potter finish the turkey off that way.

Lily went up to her room and laid down. She went to bed late last night and unwillingly got up early. A nap would do her good but the next thing she knew was that she was being shaken by someone.

"Lily, wake up!" a scared voice said.

"J-James?" Lily asked drowsily.

"Oh, thank god" James sighed in relief.

"What's going on?"

"We heard you shouting from downstairs and then I came up to see if you were okay and you were thrashing around a bit. It took me a couple of minutes before I finally woke you up."

"Oh, I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean too" Lily apologized while rubbing her eyes and then she realized she had been crying.

"Lily, what was going on?" James asked looking her over.

"I don't really remember."

"Really? It sounded like a really vivid dream especially since you were shouting."

"What was I shouting?" Lily asked, red coloring her cheeks.

"Oh, er, something about it wasn't my fault and I think something like I'm not a freak. I really don't know what that…" he trailed off because Lily began crying.

James pulled her into his arms and let her cry. He would wait for her to tell him. After a few minutes, Lily stopped and pulled back to wipe her eyes. She took a couple deep breaths to calm herself and then looked up at James.

"I remember what I was dreaming of. It was the day that my…my parents died and I had the fight with my sister."

"Lily, I'm sorry. Do you know why you were dreaming of that?"

"Yes, see this morning your Mum found me outside crying because on Christmas Eve my Mum and I would spend all day in the kitchen together. You saw what your Mum and I were doing, that's what we would do. I just didn't think it would hit me this hard but then again I haven't thought much about them since."

"I'm guessing it was because this was a special day that you two spent together and not having her here really made you miss her. It was a day that really meant a lot to you."

"James, thank you for, well, everything."

"You're welcome" James said kissing her forehead.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Lily."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"About two hours."

"Oh, good. How do I look? Not too red and splotchy?"

"Lily, you look fine and no not too red and splotchy. Come on" James said dragging her off the bed "everyone will want to know that you are alright."

Lily smiled and followed James down stairs. When they got there, everyone was looking at them deciding for themselves that Lily was alright. After a few scrutinizing minutes, they all seemed satisfied. No one pushed Lily for more information because Mrs. Potter had filled them in on why Lily might not be herself today.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with clanking pots and laughter. Mrs. Potter and Lily finished up the turkey and made several side dishes for dinner. Mrs. Potter was in awe with how much time it takes to make a meal the muggle way. Lily was very patient though, answering questions when asked and she did most of the cooking but was helped when needed. The only thing Mrs. Potter trusted the boys with was setting the table and she only trusted them because Remus was here to keep them in order.

Dinner went smoothly. Everyone devoured the food and were surprised to hear that Lily was the one to provide the recipes. It was a very successful meal and dessert vanished quickly. It was a homemade treacle tart that Lily found a couple years ago. Let's just say it was a very spectacular end to a spectacular meal.

Afterwards, everyone retired to the living room but no one really did anything. The meal made everyone tired. Sirius, Remus and Peter were sprawled out on the floor, relaxing. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were sitting next to each other reading the paper. Lily and James were cuddled up together on the floor leaning against the couch. Shortly after, Mr. and Mrs. Potter went upstairs, knowing that tomorrow would start bright and early. Remus and Peter went up next because Sirius woke them up really early and would do the same the next day. Lily kissed James and headed up saying she was exhausted and it was understandable considering her day. James and Sirius were the only ones left. After a few minutes silence, Sirius was about to head up when James stopped him.

"Sirius, I need your help."

"With what?"

"I want to do something special for Lily on New Year's Eve."

"Okay, but why do you need my help?"

"Well, I can't do this alone."

"What do you want to do?"

"I will tell you later but I need your help because I want all of our friends to be present."

"Oh, James, mate, you are in luck" Sirius laughed.

"Why is that?"

"I don't know if you have noticed but Moony, Wormtail and I have been disappearing lately."

"Yes, Lily and I have noticed. What were you doing?"

"Well, you see, not only were we giving you and Lily time alone, we were also planning a New Year's party. Getting food and drinks and something special for midnight."

"I see. Well, have you let my parents know about this?"

"I am insulted that you think we wouldn't get permission first" Sirius mocked.

"Padfoot, we are Marauders, we never ask permission. That's why we are always in detention."

"Relax, Prongs. Your parents know all about it and loved the idea. They are going out anyway."

"Good, I just wanted to make sure."

"So what are you going to do for her?"

"I will tell you later. When, I'm sure myself."

"You don't know yet?"

"I have an idea but I want to make sure she will like it."

Sirius looked at him confused but shrugged it off knowing that James always knew what he was doing. "We should probably get to bed."

"You're right. You will probably make sure we are all up early. Good night Padfoot."

"Night, Prongs."

* * *

It was Christmas morning, about six-thirty to be exact. The house was quiet, but not for much longer.

James felt someone kneel on his bed. He figured it was Sirius so he kept faking he was asleep. He felt the person push him and shake him a couple of times but he remained "asleep." When he didn't "wake up" the person shook him even more.

"Go away Sirius" James said slapping the hands away and rolling over onto his back.

He felt the person get off the bed only to get back on and climb on top of him. The person was straddling his legs and sat on what would be his lap if he was sitting. James was surprised that this person wasn't very heavy and then he realized who it was. Lily leaned forward and slid her hands along James' chest until both their faces were level with one another.

"I am insulted that you would think I was Sirius" Lily playfully said. James finally opened his eyes.

"Sorry, love, but Sirius is the one who usually wakes me up this early on Christmas."

"Oh, I know. He woke me up and was going to do you next but I told him to let me."

"Well, that was nice of you. And I have to admit, I like seeing your face first thing rather than his." Lily laughed and gave him a kiss. James pulled her off of his chest and over onto the other side of the bed. She cuddled up against his side draping an arm over his chest and he put an arm around her.

"Oh, by the way, Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, Lily."

They laid there together for a few minutes before the door burst open. They looked over to see an excited Sirius and a sleepy Remus and Peter, who were giving Sirius the death glare.

"Oy! Lily, I trust you to wake him up not cuddle with him."

"Sirius, he is awake. And you never said how to wake him up."

"Oh, touché. Well, come on, we have presents to open."

"Alright, we're coming."

As James and Lily got out of bed, they heard distinct whispers of Peter and Remus deciding on the best way to murder Sirius. They laughed and followed the others down the stairs. When they arrived, they saw quite a few presents and Mr. and Mrs. Potter sitting on the couch half asleep still. Sirius was bouncing all around waiting for the time to open presents.

"Remus, you should be use to the fact that Sirius wakes us up this early. He has for the past seven years" James laughed.

"Yes, I know but I'm still not use to it."

"Oy, stop chatting and let's get unwrapping" Sirius said impatiently.

Mrs. Potter flicked her wand and the presents were sent to the person they were for. As soon as Sirius got his he began shredding the paper. Remus, Sirius, Peter, James and Lily mostly got candy and books, scarves and gloves, and other little trinkets from friends. James gave Lily a photo that was taken the first week of school. They were cuddled on the couch in the common room and Remus surprised them by taking a picture. He put it in a black frame and then decorated it with things that represented them. She loved it because the picture really showed how much they loved each other. Lily gave James a scrapbook of all his Quidditch games. There were pictures from when he first started all the way up to the last game they played before break. He was surprised that she found all of those pictures but loved it nonetheless.

The rest of the day was spent inside and outside. The five of them had a vicious but fun snowball fight. They would take breaks every so often to warm back up before heading out again. In the mid-afternoon, they called it quits so they could clean up for dinner. Lily had asked Mrs. Potter if she wanted help cooking but she said no.

Dinner was fantastic. It was like the Hogwarts meal at Christmas time except a lot less food. There was turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, green beans, bread and many other dishes. There was still a lot of food for seven people. After dessert, everyone went into the living room and just sat and listened to the radio. Thankfully, no one in the house liked Celestina Warbeck so there was other Christmas music on. Once Peter fell asleep, there was a mutual decision to go to bed.

* * *

The next day James woke up to sunshine streaming through his window. James could feel someone else in his bed. He rolled over to find Lily sleeping peacefully next to him. He was trying to remember if they fell asleep together or if she came in during the night. But he couldn't remember. He put on his glasses and shifted lightly so he wouldn't disturb her and just watched her sleep. She was so beautiful with her auburn hair spread out behind her. Her cream colored skin shining slightly in the morning sunlight. It took James' breath away. Lily's eyelids fluttered a bit before they opened. She blinked a couple of times before her emerald eyes focused on James.

She smiled and sat up "Have you been watching me sleep?"

"Yes" James smiled and sat up next to her.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Because I love you."

"I love you too."

"So, I can't remember, did you fall asleep in here or did you come in during the night?"

Lily blushed and gave him a sheepish smile "I came in during the night. You're not upset, are you?"

"Of course not, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy. My bed is your bed" James laughed.

"Good, it's just, I didn't want to be alone last night. It was my first Christmas without my parents."

"Lily, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I may not understand entirely what you are going through, but I do understand when someone needs other people's company. You should never be ashamed of not wanting to be alone." Lily smiled her eyes shining with tears.

"Thank you James, I don't know what I would do without you."

James replied by pulling her into a hug. Then he leaned down and kissed her. It was one of the fiercest kisses they had ever shared but that kiss revealed more about the other than either of them knew. The kiss told the other how much they loved each other that they would go to the end of the world with the other, and something that Lily didn't recognize but James knew what it was.

After the kiss, they left the room to go to breakfast. When they reached the kitchen, Mrs. Potter was the only one there. She smiled when they walked in but went back to the newspaper. James poured tea for them and sat down next to Lily. Everything was quiet for a few minutes until Mrs. Potter slammed the paper on the table and got up to make breakfast.

Lily and James looked at each other before grabbing the paper. On the front cover was the headline: _More Disappearances: Minister Does Nothing_. They each read the article and couldn't believe what they just read. There were more people disappearing even though everyone knew they were most likely killed and the Minister hasn't done anything more to step up protection of wizards and muggles who live near wizards. James and Lily were appalled and understood why Mrs. Potter was suddenly so angry.

Just as they put the paper aside, the rest of everyone in the house joined them at the table. Mrs. Potter put several plates of pancakes down and breakfast began. They chatted about the small party that was happening this evening with Emily, Mary, Frank and Alice. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were going to a friend's house so the kids had the house to themselves.

The rest of the morning and the afternoon passed quietly. At about six, James' parents left and at about six-thirty, Emily, Mary, Frank and Alice showed up. Everyone sat down for dinner (leftovers from the night before) which was delicious. They had some dessert, which Lily made and then went into the living room to exchange gifts. Frank and Alice and James and Lily doubled up when they purchased gifts for people to save some money. After awhile, the girls started chatting about Alice's wedding in the summer. They were helping her decide on colors and flowers and whatever else they could think of. But on the other side of the room, the boys were talking about Voldemort.

"I just don't see how one man could be so heartless to go so far as killing innocent muggles who have no idea what is happening" Remus said.

"I know what you mean, but there is nothing we can do about him."

"Sure there is, Prongs, we just have to figure out how to get around his death eaters without getting killed."

"Padfoot, that was not as funny as you might like to think. Anyway, if we could just join some kind of army that is fighting against him we might be able to help defeat him."

"I agree Remus, if there is an army fighting out there, I will join as soon as I'm out of school" James said.

"Guys, there is something out there fighting him" Frank told them.

"Really? What? I haven't heard of anything."

"I accidentally overheard Alice's cousins talking about the Order of the Phoenix. It's a group founded by Dumbledore that is working to defeat Voldemort. Only they are still outnumbered by Voldemort's followers."

"Well, I want to join." James declared.

"Me too. What a great way to piss off my parents even more."

"Sirius" Remus warned.

"What?"

"You know very well what."

"No, I don't know very well what."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Ha! You admitted it."

"NO! I thought you would fall for my trick and admit that I didn't know what."

"Well, lucky for me, I didn't."

Sirius just scowled at Remus and was about to retort when the girls joined them. Lily, Emily and Alice grabbed their boyfriends and dragged them over to dance to the music. Remus asked Mary to dance and they joined the others. Peter didn't mind not having a partner to dance with for he was severely uncoordinated. He just laughed with everyone else. After awhile, everyone sat down slightly exhausted and started chatting about whatever came up.

Eventually, talk shifted to the New Year's party that James was hosting. Everyone in the house right now was attending plus other sixth and seventh years throughout the houses, excluding Slytherin. James glanced at Sirius and shared a knowing look about that day. James had never divulged exactly what he was doing that day because Sirius always has trouble keeping exciting secrets, well secret. At about eleven-thirty, Emily, Mary, Frank and Alice, said their good-byes and left. Shortly, after Remus, Peter and Sirius dragged themselves upstairs.

Lily and James were left on the couch, cuddling. They relaxed there, staring into the fire until Lily began to doze off. James picked her up and cradled her in his arms. As he began for the stairs Lily woke up, kind of.

"James" she slurred "I can walk." James set her on her feet but as soon as she took a step she almost fell. James scooped her up and continued up the stairs.

"Lily" he murmured softly "would you like to sleep in your bed or mine?"

"Yours" she whispered before she fell asleep completely.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry this has taken so long but school takes precedent. I also thought this chapter was appropriate (the title kinda gives it away.) Please Review and Happy New Year!

* * *

**Chapter 12: New Year's Surprises**

The next few days went by quickly. Everyone was getting things ready for the New Year's Eve party. Sirius, Remus and Peter were busy getting food and drink and arranging for them to arrive early the day of. Lily, James and Emily (when she came over) were getting decorations and deciding where to set things up and where to move the furniture to. At the end of every day, they were exhausted mainly from running around so much.

Finally, New Year's Eve arrived and they were super excited. All day they set up tables and moved the furniture to give dancing room. The food and drinks arrived around five and were set up accordingly. They also got candy from Honeydukes to give to the guests to take home. James' parents left around six and people didn't arrive until around seven.

The first to arrive were Emily, Mary, Frank and Alice. Next were several Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw seventh years. All the sixth year Gryffindors arrived together and were followed by the sixth year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. By eight the party was in full swing. People were talking and dancing, eating and drinking. Some people had found the tables they set up for games and were playing those.

Lily was thankful that talk was all happy and nothing was about the impending war. This was supposed to be a happy event and talk of Voldemort would just bring the mood down. Currently, James was entertaining his friends and Lily was talking with hers.

James pulled Lily away to the dance floor. James began to twirl her around and they were joined by Alice and Frank and Sirius and Emily. Remus asked the other seventh year girl to dance and a seventh year Ravenclaw asked Mary. Soon everyone there seemed to be on the dance floor.

The next several songs were fast and then it slowed down. This was technically James and Lily's first slow dance together. They held each other close, stared into the other's eyes, and never said a word. The three couples surrounding them could just feel the love radiating off of them. It was slightly sickening but romantic nonetheless.

After a few more dances, Lily pulled James toward the drinks table. They grabbed a couple of butterbeers and headed toward a table on the outskirts of the dance floor. Shortly, they were joined by Sirius, Frank, Emily and Alice. For awhile no one said anything because they were watching the others dance. But the silence couldn't last and Sirius was the one to break it with a very loud belch.

"Padfoot" James said disgusted.

"Don't give me that. You have done it too."

"I know but now that I have a wonderful girlfriend in my life, I try to act more discreet."

"Lily, doesn't care about that stuff."

"Actually Sirius, I'm glad that James is discreet about his bodily functions" Lily laughed.

"Well, I'm not your boyfriend or your girlfriend, and Emily doesn't mind."

"Er, I actually would like it if you were more discreet, at least in public" Emily admitted. Sirius gaped at her.

"What? You're taking their side!"

"Oh, don't overact Sirius. I don't care if you do it in front of us but when there are other people present, discretion would be nice."

"Fine" Sirius huffed and walked toward the food table, Emily followed behind him.

"I wish he wouldn't eat his problems" James said with a light chuckle.

"James, you know he only does it because he never gains any weight. He is like a bottomless pit" Lily laughed.

"Lily, come on, I need to use the loo" Alice said getting up. Lily followed after giving James a kiss on his cheek. Once they were out of earshot Frank spoke up.

"Why do girls always go to the loo together?"

"So they can talk about us without being overheard" James shrugged.

"Well, I still don't get it. Anyway, I heard from a little birdie that you were planning something special for Lily tonight."

"Sirius" James sighed "he can never keep a secret. I'm glad I didn't tell him what I was planning, otherwise, it wouldn't have been a very good surprise."

"Whoa, I didn't say it was Sirius."

"Well, he is the only one I told about my special plan."

"Oh. So what are you planning?"

"I'm not telling. You will see for yourself when the time comes."

"And when exactly is that time?"

"You will know soon enough" and with that James got up and joined Lily as she reappeared.

* * *

_**Meanwhile in the loo…**_

"Okay, Alice, what did you want to talk to me about? Because obviously you don't have to go" Lily said as Alice looked herself over in the mirror.

"Well, I just wanted to see if you were alright since I haven't seen you since Christmas."

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"Lily, this is your first New Year's without your parents, and I know Christmas was hard for you. And I never got a chance to talk to you about it."

"Oh, well, I'm a lot better than I was. It is hard but it's getting better. I just want to enjoy this time with James and my friends."

"If you're sure Lily. But I heard from Frank who heard from a little birdie that James is planning something special for you tonight."

"Alice, don't tell me that. You know I love being surprised and now that I know there is one coming, I won't be as surprised."

Alice huffed, she really did enjoy that exciting kind of gossip, but she let it go. She finished primping herself and dragged Lily back to the party.

* * *

_**Back to the party…**_

James led Lily back onto the floor to dance. While they danced a few more songs, some sixth years from all three houses said their good-byes and thanks to James saying they had another party to go to. After they left, there were only seventh years and a few leftover sixth years.

At about eleven, the rest of the sixth years left and all the seventh years left too. The only people left were Frank, Remus, Peter, Sirius, James, Alice, Mary, Emily and Lily. They were kind of confused as to why everyone left before midnight but decided that they had other parties to go to.

Because they had an hour left before the New Year, they put the furniture back in place and cleaned up the trash and leftover food. They put the games away and when they were finished it was eleven-thirty. They sat down by the fire and listen to some new year's talk show on the radio. Lily had made hot cocoa, which she spiked in honor of the holiday, while they cleaned up and they shared the leftover candy.

No one really talked except for a comment or two every once in awhile. They were enjoying the peace and quiet of their last Christmas break while at school. With ten minutes to midnight, James disappeared upstairs for a couple minutes before rejoining them. He looked more nervous than anyone had ever seen him, including those times because of the House Quidditch Cup finals. James asked to meet the guys in the kitchen. Once everyone was in, James locked the door and put a silencing charm on it before he spoke.

"Prongs, buddy, what's up?" Sirius asked, concern filling his voice. He had never seen James like this before.

"I don't know if I can give Lily her surprise" he said nervously pacing back and forth.

"James, what is Lily's surprise?" Remus asked while trying to get him to stop pacing.

"Alright, if I tell you, you must promise that you won't act differently when we go back in there. Especially, you Sirius."

"What? I am great at keeping secrets" he said faking his hurt. Everyone gave him a look that said otherwise, but they dropped that subject.

"Wait, I know what is going on" Frank said.

"What's that?" Peter asked clearly confused.

Frank lowered his voice so much that they barely heard him. When he finished, all but James stared at him with their mouths open, almost to the floor.

"Remember, you promised not to act differently. Oh no, I only have five more minutes."

"James, buddy breath. You will be fine" Frank reassured him. James nodded and took several deep steadying breaths.

"We should probably go in there so we don't miss the New Year."

They all filed back in after James lifted the charms. The girls looked at them curiously but no one said anything about it.

"Oh look, only three minutes to midnight" Emily said excitedly.

When James reached Lily, he pulled her into a hug and led her over to the window. He pulled the curtain aside and they gazed at the moon. It was almost full and knew that Remus wasn't feeling the greatest but was glad that he lasted this long tonight. He always got tired and sick a few days before the full moon.

"James, why did you pull me over to the window?"

"I don't know. I just thought looking at the moon would be more romantic.

"More romantic for what?" Lily asked turning to him.

But Lily never got her answer because Alice squealed that there were only thirty seconds to go. James and Lily were facing each other counting down with the rest of them.

"Ten…Nine…Eight…Seven"

James reached into his pocket and pulled something out but Lily didn't notice this.

"Six…Five…Four…Three"

James got down on one knee and looked into Lily's eyes.

"Two…ONE!"

He opened the little box in his hand to reveal a gorgeous engagement ring. It was an oval cut diamond with smaller emerald stones trailing down the white gold band. Lily's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Happy New Year love, will you marry me?" James smiled.

After the kisses from the couples, no one in the room dared make a sound. They all stopped to see what her answer was going to be. The girls looked shocked but excited and the guys looked excited. James looked at Lily expectantly, waiting for her answer.

Finally, Lily found her voice "Yes, of course." As James got up, she jumped on him for a huge hug and a kiss. Everyone else cheered and finally said happy New Year to each other. Lily and James finally stopped their spinning kiss.

"I love you" Lily said as he slipped the ring on her finger.

"I love you too" James said giving her a kiss.

After their kiss, they were surrounded by their friends, shouting congratulations and the girls were squealing to see her ring. After the excitement died down a little, they finally made their way back to their spots in front of the fire.

"James, the ring is so beautiful. I love the emeralds because they match my eyes so perfectly."

"Good, I'm glad you like it. I was surprised to find that the ring's emeralds matched your eyes so well."

"Wait, so this isn't a new ring?" Emily asked.

"No, it belonged to my Grandma Potter. She had very green eyes and funny enough red hair too. At least when she was younger, she had red hair."

"Wow, so do the men in the Potter family have a thing for red heads?" Alice asked.

"No, I don't think so" James said "why?"

"Well, you say your grandma had red hair, your mother has red hair and so does Lily."

"Hmm, I never really thought of that. Maybe."

James got up, saying he would be back in a minute and rushed up the stairs. The girls were still admiring Lily's ring while the guys dipped into conversation about the impending war. Not very happy talk but something was bothering them about going out into the real world once they finished school. James bounded back into the room with what looked like a photo album in his hand.

"So, I remembered that my parents had this photo album of sorts that has the wedding photos of all the Potter family weddings. Whether it was a Potter woman marrying into a different family or a Potter man marrying a woman. I'm not sure how far back these pictures go but I think most are in color. Emily, what you said about red headed woman got me thinking if it has always been this way" James said as he sat down on the floor.

He opened the album and began looking at all the pictures. There were captions saying who they were, when they got married and who their kids were if they had any. The girls giggled at some of the ridiculous wedding dresses as James flipped through the album. But there was a distinct similarity between all the pictures. When a Potter man was getting married his wife was a red head and when a formerly Potter woman was getting married her husband had unruly black hair.

"Well, Prongs it looks like there is some kind of Potter curse going on" Sirius laughed as James continued to look through the album.

"A curse, Padfoot?"

"Yes, Moony, a curse. The men are destined to marry fiery red heads and the woman are destined to marry men with unruly black hair, thus their offspring will either be redheaded or unruly black haired."

Lily laughed and shook her head at Sirius' ridiculousness. "Sirius, I would hardly call that a curse, more like a strange coincidence."

"Oh, Lilykins, so naïve. It is a curse because it takes a certain kind of person to deal with fiery redheads, such as you."

"Oh, really Sirius. It takes a _certain_ kind of person to deal with me. And what kind of person would that be?" Lily asked a bit threateningly but with a hint of humor in her voice.

"Umm, well, you see…" Sirius trailed off when James gave him a glare.

"Alright, I think we get that there is something in the Potter genes that make them attracted to certain people. I think this should stop before our very own fiery redhead, emits fire" Remus said with the tone that he used to steer his friends away from a dangerous prank.

"Thanks you Remus, and I do think that we should get to bed. It's already one and I know my mother will make us a huge breakfast like always. Plus, I'm a little tipsy and think that if this goes on longer, we might all be drunk" James said pulling Lily to his side.

There were some tired mumbles of agreement as they headed upstairs. Everyone left was staying at James' especially after the few drinks they did have. Alice and Frank were staying in one room while Sirius and Emily were in another. James and Lily stayed in James' room while Mary, Remus and Peter stayed in the remaining room. They bid each other goodnight and went to their specified rooms.

As soon as James' door closed Lily pushed him up against it and kissed him so fiercely that it took both their breaths away. Once Lily pulled away she beamed up at James. She was the happiest she has ever been. She had thought about marrying James quite a lot in the past few weeks. To her it just seemed like the right thing to do. She knew in her heart that James was the one, the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The one she wanted to create a life after school with. There was nothing she wanted more. She knew they had only been dating for four months but it didn't matter to her. She felt as though they had been dating since the beginning of sixth year.

"Lily, what was that for?" James beamed right back.

"Because, I love you and I am so happy about this" she showed him the ring he gave her "I know this may sound silly but the past few weeks I have been thinking about getting married…to you. Alice and Frank's upcoming wedding has just got me thinking and made me realize that I'm ready for this, I'm ready to take this big step with the one I love. I know in my heart that marrying you will be the best decision of my life because I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Lily, I am so happy that you have said all that. It's exactly how I feel too. I was so nervous to ask because we haven't dated for very long but it feels like a lot longer and I wasn't sure if you were ready and felt that connection. I love you, with all my heart" James leaned down and kissed Lily again.

The kiss deepened and became quicker and more passionate. Neither was sure if it was the leftover alcohol in their systems or the happiness of the New Year but they couldn't stop snogging. Slowly they made their way to James' bed and laid down never breaking the kiss. James suddenly remembered the door was unlocked; he picked up his wand, still kissing Lily and flicked his wand toward the door. It locked and he said a few other charms just in case Sirius got any bright ideas.

Lily brought his attention back to her when she started taking his shirt off. James suddenly broke apart and stared at her. She blushed a little under James' stare realizing that she and James had never talked about this before.

"Lily, I-I, are you sure?"

"I know we never talked about it bu…" Lily was cut off by James putting his finger to her lips.

"I know we never have but if you think you're ready, then I'm ready."

Lily nodded, she knew she was ready. She wanted to be with James in a many ways possible. James gave her a look that said "are you truly sure?" and at her nod, a smirk appeared on James' face and he pressed his lips back to Lily's with a new kind of passion.

James let Lily finish taking his shirt off while his hands wandered down to her waist to take her shirt off. As soon as Lily's shirt was off, James momentarily stopped their progress. He had forgotten how beautiful she was with her creamy white skin. Strangely enough, Lily was admiring James' upper body, remembering that summer at the lake. After their momentary staring time, they quickly got back into the swing of things.

Their smooth skin pressed against each other as they moved in sync with their kissing. Lily was working on unbuttoning James' pants while he moved his lips down her jaw, onto her neck, across her collar bone, back up her neck to her ear, which he gently nibbled on, smiling a little when she moaned a bit from the nibbling. His mouth met hers again as he began kicking his pants off. Once off James rolled with Lily on the bed so that she was on top of him. He began working on her pants while their kissing became fierce and urgent but sexy at the same time.

As soon as Lily pants joined James' on the floor, Lily broke the kiss and sat straddling James' hips. He was a little confused as to what she was doing but figured it was going to be wonderful. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra letting it join the rest of the clothes. James' eyes widened a bit but he was happy nonetheless. The kissing began again as Lily gently lay back on James. James was rubbing his hands all over Lily's smooth, bare back admiring the softness. Shortly after, and neither are sure how it happened, but neither of them had any clothes on.

That night, or rather morning, James and Lily were lost with each other in tangled sheets, fierce kissing, and steamy passion.

* * *

For being the first of January, it was sure bright and sunny out. Light was streaming in the windows, casting a warm glow on the floors throughout the house. But in one certain room the light was streaming on the bare back of one Lily Evans.

James woke up bleary eyed and blindly searched for his glasses. Once he found them, he felt a slight pressure on his chest and when he glanced down he saw Lily's arm draped across his chest. He smiled as memories of the early morning swam back into his mind. He looked back down at Lily and saw how the sunlight was resting on her back, making her glow and even more beautiful than ever before.

Lily stirred, breathing in deeply before raising her head. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the morning light, when she noticed James smiling at her. She smiled back, memories flooding back to her. She realized that they had both fallen asleep naked, so when she turned on her side, she pulled the sheet around her. James chuckled softly.

"What?" Lily asked playfully.

"Lils, I have seen it all, remember. You don't need to cover yourself up."

"I know, but maybe I want to. I don't want to tease you too much."

"Too late. Just seeing you, lying next to me like that, while I'm like this" he gestured to himself "is teasing enough."

Lily laughed and planted a kiss on his lips and then snuggled back into his arms. He wrapped his arms securely around her and they stayed like that for what seemed like hours, until there was a pounding on the door.

"James, Lily! Wakey wakey! It's New Year's day breakfast and I can smell all the deliciousness. Get your arses out of bed and down to the kitchen!" Sirius shouted.

"Yes, yes, Sirius. We'll be right down" James responded.

"I guess we should get dressed. I don't think anyone would appreciate us being naked at breakfast" Lily laughed, rolling over James and onto the floor, pulling the sheet with her.

"Oh, well, I personally was going to go down to breakfast like this. Shake things up a bit. Make a statement of sorts."

"By all means, precede downstairs nude. But I am positive that your mother and father plus the rest of our friends might not appreciate it all that much."

"Well, when you put it that way. Getting dressed might not be so bad."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Rumors and Snogging?**

The next few months went by increasingly fast for the girls and the Marauders. When they arrived back at Hogwarts for the next term, they weren't expecting the events that occurred from then until the Easter holidays. Insane rumors spread throughout the school about the Gryffindors. How they came about, no one knows and it became increasingly frustrating.

Not only did the seventh years have more homework in preparation for their N.E.W.T.s, they were also trying to keep their social lives away from the rest of the school. Which sounds pretty easy but in a school like Hogwarts, the only gossipy news is about the students. No one really has a personal life because it is displayed for everyone to see. There are certain things that do go unstated in Hogwarts but generally, everyone who cares knows everyone's business.

Now, the Gryffindor seventh years were not the only ones subjected to strange and ridiculous rumors. Oh no, everyone who was even remotely noticed by people in Hogwarts, was open territory. The first and second years were really the only ones who didn't have a rumor about them. They were still too unknown to the population of Hogwarts and too susceptible to emotional damage to be made fun of. But everyone else was free game, even the teachers. There were some pretty humorous rumors spread about the teachers but no one took them as true. It was merely for a laugh and the teachers laughed at them too. Some rumors spread were virtually harmless and lasted only a few hours at the most. But there were some pretty vicious rumors spread that lasted for months it seemed. The victims of these nasty rumors were none other than James, Lily, Sirius and Emily.

Not a single person knows who started the rumors. After a about a month into the term, the second nasty rumor just started, Lily and James went to the Headmaster to see if something could be done. They had been the first victims and now that Sirius and Emily became the next victims, something needed to be done. Unfortunately, Professor Dumbledore didn't know anything. That said something because Dumbledore knows everything that goes on in Hogwarts. Everyone knows that, although the Marauders severely hoped that he has no clue about their illegal Animagi abilities.

After their talk with Dumbledore, Lily and James exhaustedly collapsed on the couch in their common room. They sat in silence both thinking about the rumor that spread about them. The first full day back people were whispering in the Great Hall as Lily and James entered. As soon as they did, the whispering stopped and everyone stared at them. Looking at the Great Hall curiously, Lily and James made their way to the Gryffindor table. The whispers had started up again but at a much less quantity of people talking. Neither said anything but continued to eat their breakfast. Not until Alice joined them did they find out what the whispering had been about.

It hadn't taken long before someone noticed the delicate ring on Lily's finger. Naturally, everyone knew that Lily and James had become engaged over break but they didn't know the details. James and Lily and their friends refused to comment on the special moment that took place on New Year's. Alice told them that the rumor had developed into something nasty and that she was sorry that this was happening. Apparently, James only proposed to Lily because he felt sorry for her. She was Muggleborn (only the word hadn't started out that kind) and after her near death experience in Hogsmeade, James didn't have the heart to break up with her and decided that he would do Lily a favor by asking for her hand in marriage.

Needless to say, the rumor made Lily out to be the bad guy and James to be the selfless hero. Lily always knew that James had admirers. She knew that for the rest of their time at Hogwarts, the admirers would still be fawning over him and wishing ill on Lily. After they started dating, Lily began to notice this more and more but she learned to ignore it and it eventually died down. Well, now that Lily looked terrible in the eyes of the school, she could sense all those admirers' eyes glaring murderously at her. James was furious. How could someone think so ill of Lily? That was what he repeated all day to whoever would listen. None of their friends were happy either. It was a nasty rumor that was obviously not true.

Time and time again for the next week, James and Lily tried to prove that they were happily in love and that those were only rumors. But it didn't work. Lily was still getting stares from people and hurtful words were thrown at her too. For the most part she kept her cool and ignored them but if a particularly nasty one got to her she usually took points away. After the third day of the rumor, he pulled Lily close to him whenever the haters got close. They usually backed off at Lily's murderous glare. By Friday, James had had enough and when the next set of girls that had come near, James pulled Lily to him and kissed her deeply and passionately. When he pulled away he tenderly told her that he loved her and they went on their way to class.

After that hallway incident, people had stopped coming up to James and Lily and instead whispered behind their backs. They could have sworn that this rumor would have died by now but it seemed that something kept fueling the fire. They were both emotionally exhausted from all of this and couldn't wait to be done with school. Lily and James were startled out of their thoughts when two exasperated people sat down on the couch next to them.

"I can't bloody believe that the people in this bloody school actually believe that stupid rumor!" Emily cursed after, clearly showing how much of an influence Sirius had on her.

"Calm down Emily, we all know it's not true. Who cares what those bloody wankers think" Lily responded quite venomously. She was still miffed over her own rumor.

"I know but it bugs me. It's been a week since it started and one like this should have died by now." She grimaced sympathetically at Lily suddenly remembering the rumor started about her and James.

"Em, we'll get through this. We all will" Sirius kissed her temple and pulled her into his arms.

"Sirius is right. No matter what the rest of the school thinks, we all know the truth and the Marauders will get to the bottom of this. We have all been keeping an eye out for anyone who might be replenishing the gossip goblet. But we haven't gotten a single clue yet" James said comfortingly, knowing all too well what Emily and Sirius were going through.

Someone had decided that Sirius had finally lived up to the name of Black and joined the ranks of Death Eaters. So when Emily and Sirius had a fight in the hallway about something stupid (they were arguing about who could eat more pepper imps) it must have sounded like they were fighting about his new found "friends" and that she didn't agree with his decision. So they "broke up" and now it was going around that Sirius was a Death Eater and that is why he and Emily broke up. Well, they aren't broken up and Sirius is not a Death Eater.

"How did you two get in here anyway?"

"James gave Sirius the password the other day because they were discussing something."

"Oh, well, I'm glad you're here, not that I don't love James, I just need to be around my friends too."

"I understand. I need normalcy and we don't get that in the common room. Even though the Gryffindors don't believe the rumors, it's a weird atmosphere."

Alice, Frank, Remus, Peter and Mary joined them later and they spent the rest of their evening talking about nothing and everything. They all needed a break from their school work (even Lily and Remus) and it was good to talk to just them. No one was judging anyone or trying to get any rumor started. It was just a relaxing evening. It also helped that Remus and Peter showed up with sweets and Firewhiskey. They all needed a night to do nothing and that Friday night was it. They were all getting a little tipsy when James suggested that they play a wizarding game that James and Sirius made up a few years ago.

"Okay, okay" James slurred slightly "let me ex-explain the rules. I will charm this empty bottle to spin for howevers l-long and when it stops on someone they have to tell the group something about them that no one knows. If someone else knows what you say then you have to take a swig of Firewhiskey. Then you touch the bottle and it spins again landing on a new person. The bottle will cease to spin when a person who is too drunk touches it and then the game is over."

The girls giggled and got into a circle. James touched the bottle to start the game and it continued like this. They laughed and laughed and took drinks when they slipped up and said something they had already told someone. Things were learned about each other and they all got drunk off their arses. Lily was the one who ended up stopping the game although she was no light weight. She had her fair share of Firewhiskey, even more than Emily can hold and Emily was the drinker of the girls. The girls were in fits of giggles as the boys couldn't stop laughing at the last thing Peter said. All in all, it was a good night for the Gryffindor seventh years.

* * *

The sun rose over the grounds of Hogwarts making the lake glitter and the birds chirp. For a February in Scotland, it was an incredibly beautiful day and most likely students would be grazing the grounds later in the day. Most of the Hogwarts population was just getting out of bed and making their way down to the Great Hall except for the occupants of the Head's Common Room.

If an outsider was to walk into the room, they would laugh at the sight before their eyes. There were a few bottles of Ogden's Firewhiskey strewn throughout the space in front of the fireplace. The embers were barely glowing anymore because the occupants of the Head's Room were unable to tend to them.

The occupants were spread out all over the common room. Peter was curled up in front of the dead fire, wrapped around a pillow. Sirius was laying half on the couch and half off the couch. It looked like he had fallen off the night before and just stayed there. Emily's head was on his chest and she was sprawled next to him, twisted in what would probably be an uncomfortable position had she not been inebriated. James was on the floor next the small armchair in the room. He was lying flat with his arms wrapped around Lily. She had her head on his chest and was lying sprawled out on top of him. The rest of the couch was occupied by Alice and Frank, who were somehow tangled up together and somehow they managed not to tumble off. Next to James and Lily were Remus and Mary. A surprise to all was that they were very closely wrapped together and looked like they had fallen asleep snogging. All together it was quite a funny sight to see.

The first ones to wake were Frank and Alice. The sunlight streamed just so, that it hit them in the face. They groaned at the bright light and their skull splitting headaches. As they carefully detangled themselves they noticed the rest of their friends and their humorous positions. As they got up, Lily and James started groaning. They slowly opened their eyes and smiled at their humorous position. James looked up and noticed Alice and Frank watching with slightly humorous and slightly pained expressions. James didn't want to move, afraid of making his headache worse and he liked Lily laying on him. While they just stayed where they were, Alice and Frank sat back down on the couch and Peter was the next one to wake up. He just kind of rolled onto his back and groaned.

Sirius and Emily were next and groaned the loudest of them all, even though James and Lily had the most alcohol that night. They noticed that everyone else was sitting up so they joined them. Everyone had yet to notice the position that Remus and Mary were in. The others were too preoccupied with their splitting headaches and trying to remember the night before, albeit unsuccessfully.

When Mary groaned, everyone in the room turned in her direction. And then they noticed…

Remus and Mary's faces were inches apart. It quite literally looked like they had fallen asleep snogging. The two opened their eyes and didn't notice how they were positioned until someone cleared their throat. They looked over at the staring eyes and then back to each other and quickly scrambled away from each other. They were both blushing profusely and then immediately grabbed their pounding heads.

"Uh, w-we, were just…" Mary stammered out.

"Mary, I think you can save the explanations for later. None of us can really think straight after last night and I think we'll barely be able to make it to breakfast" Lily said quietly.

After some more blushing from Mary and Remus, Alice suggested that they all clean themselves up before going down to breakfast. Lily said they could use the bathroom here so no one aroused suspicion walking to Gryffindor Tower.

They all looked better but you could still tell that they had gotten drunk the night before. Lily and James changed their clothes and helped the others look as though they weren't wearing those clothes yesterday. They all headed slowly to the Great Hall for breakfast, none of them bothering to check the time. The Gryffindors didn't pass anyone on their way down to the Great Hall but all of them were lost in their own headaches.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, there were very few students in there. All appeared to be early risers but a few were trying to stay awake. Sirius was the one to notice this and became confused as to why there were so little students.

"Did anyone bother to check what time it is? If it's so early that there are this few students in here, I might have to hit something" Sirius said rather delicately.

Remus checked his watch and groaned. He would have preferred to have slept at least until the afternoon.

"It's just about eight o'clock. If we weren't already here I would say we go pass out for a few more hours. But we're here so let's just eat and then go pass out again."

There were murmured statements of agreement while the Gryffindors made their way to the middle of the table. Each distractedly put food on their plates and began eating. However, they shortly discovered that food was not such a good idea. A few bites in and every single one pushed their plate away in mild distaste.

Suddenly, Emily smacked her head, which was an incredibly stupid idea and began groaning at the pain she just inflicted upon herself.

"Why did I do that? I already have the worst headache possible."

"No, really, Em, why did you do that?" Lily asked without looking at anyone, afraid any sudden movements would increase her nausea.

"I just remembered that I have several bottles of a hangover potion my mum gave me before we came back to school."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get them. I can't take this anymore!" Sirius whinged.

"Alright, Alright, don't get your knickers in a twist. We'll go in a bit when everyone decides they won't be sick all over the table."

Admittedly, going to the Great Hall was not the most brilliant idea any of them ever had but they weren't really thinking straight. Once they got the potion, all sighed in relief. They had decided to have a lazy day and not worry about homework for now, when suddenly a memory popped into Lily's head.

"Mary, why were you and Remus so close together last night? I feel like something happened last night but I can't remember" Lily trailed off when she saw the looks on Mary and Remus' faces.

"I, uh, well…" Remus stammered.

"You two were snogging last night, weren't you?" Sirius asked.

* * *

A/N: So I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted a new chapter. I never meant for this go on this long. Boy does time fly. I also realized I had this chapter written but never did anything with it. The story will probably end with 15 chapters. I thought it would go on longer but things happen and this probably doesn't need to go as far as I originally thought it would.


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